CVE Alert: CVE-2025-54244 – Adobe – Substance3D – Viewer

Risk verdict

High risk to endpoints, as exploitation requires user interaction and local access; there is no explicit KEV or SSVC exploitation flag in the data, so treat as a high-priority but not automatically urgent issue until provenance of exploit activity is clarified.

Why this matters

The flaw enables arbitrary code execution in the user’s context via a malicious file, with all three CIA aspects at risk. In practice, an attacker could gain control of affected workstations, potentially compromising design data, credentials, and workflows within CAD/3D pipelines.

Most likely attack path

Attacker lures the user to open a crafted file, triggering a heap-based overflow while the viewer is running locally. No privileges are required, but user interaction is necessary, so initial foothold relies on social engineering or trusted distribution of malicious files. Once exploited, code runs with the current user’s rights, enabling lateral moves within the user’s session and access to any data the user can reach.

Who is most exposed

Design studios, engineering teams, and organisations deploying Substance3D Viewer on Windows/macOS endpoints are most at risk, particularly where file-sharing pipelines enable external file delivery or where users routinely open downloaded assets.

Detection ideas

• Unusual viewer crashes or memory-related errors after opening files from untrusted sources
• Sudden spikes in memory/CPU usage or memory corruption dumps tied to the viewer process
• Unexpected process spawning or child processes initiated by the viewer
• Alerts from EDR on attempted code execution in the user’s context
• File provenance warnings when opening 3D assets

Mitigation and prioritisation

• Apply vendor patch beyond version 0.25.1 as soon as available; validate in QA before broader rollout
• Disable or restrict auto-opening of external files; use sandboxing for file handling
• Implement application allowlisting and strict file-origin controls; enable memory-safe build options where provided
• Strengthen EDR with memory‑corruption and process-injection detections; monitor for abnormal crashes
• Ensure backups and access controls for design assets; implement network segmentation for design workstations
• If KEV or EPSS data becomes available and indicates active exploitation, escalate to Priority 1