# CVE-2018-4927: Privilege escalation in InDesign 13.0 and below

> An untrusted search path vulnerability in Adobe InDesign allows local attackers to escalate privileges.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 19 May 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-c4c3-f77q-3vh4

## What is CVE-2018-4927?

CVE-2018-4927 is a high-severity vulnerability in Adobe Indesign, published on 19 May 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Adobe InDesign versions 13.0 and below have an exploitable Untrusted Search Path vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to local privilege escalation.

Weakness: CWE-426 (Untrusted Search Path)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-4927?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Adobe Indesign.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-4927?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-4927 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-4927 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-4927 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Adobe Indesign

- [CVE-2019-7107](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-7107/): Code injection in InDesign (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-11302](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-11302/): Memory corruption in Adobe InDesign 12.1.0 and earlier versions (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-7886](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7886/): Memory corruption in Adobe InDesign 11.4.1 and earlier, InDesign Server 11.0.0 and earlier (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-36004](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36004/): Adobe InDesign CoolType out of bounds write vulnerability could lead to arbitrary stack manipulation (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-21098](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21098/): Adobe InDesign PCX file parsing out-of-bounds write vulnerability could lead to remote code execution (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-4927 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-4927 is a high-severity vulnerability in Adobe Indesign, published on 19 May 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-4927 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Adobe Indesign. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4927/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4927/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-4927
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-4927
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-4927

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-4927/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.