Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a drawing and design app for making logos, icons and illustrations that stay sharp when resized. It’s made by Adobe, based in the United States.
Criminals have used its name in fake downloads or scams, so get it only from adobe.com.
What it is
People use Illustrator to make logos, drawings, posters and packaging. Its graphics use lines, curves and shapes that can be resized without becoming blurry. It requires a paid Creative Cloud subscription.
It reads the artwork and images you open or place, and writes files when you save. It also stores preferences and temporary files on the Mac. Saving a cloud document sends the work to Adobe's cloud storage, where changes are saved automatically.
Adobe distributes Illustrator through Creative Cloud and publishes security fixes. Use the official download page and keep it updated. Pirated Mac copies have been distributed with malware.
Who makes it
Adobe is a software company founded in 1982 and based in San Jose, California. Its legal name is Adobe Inc.. Its website is adobe.com.
Adobe makes other software with flaws that attackers have used. Its page in Companies lists them.
Is it the real one?
Every Mac app carries a signature from the developer who made it. Apple checks who the developer is before handing out the certificate, and macOS refuses to open an app whose signature has been tampered with.
HARD hasn’t yet recorded the signature on a real copy of Adobe Illustrator. Its Mac app shows who signed the copy you have.
Its bundle ID, the name macOS knows it by, is com.adobe.illustrator. Download it only from adobe.com, not from an ad or a link someone sends you.
Fakes. In March 2023, Intego reported that pirated Mac copies of Illustrator were among apps distributed with Honkbox malware, which used victims' computers to mine cryptocurrency.
What it connects to
In normal use, Adobe Illustrator talks to these places on the internet. A firewall that asks before apps connect, like the one in HARD’s Mac app, will show them.
| Address | Why |
|---|---|
ims-na1.adobelogin.com | Adobe account sign-in |
lm.licenses.adobe.com | Licence activation |
ccmdl.adobe.com | Creative Cloud software downloads |
assets.adobe.com | Cloud documents and assets |
libraries.adobe.io | Creative Cloud Libraries |
fonts.adobe.com | Adobe Fonts |
stock.adobe.com | Adobe Stock assets |
What it can see
macOS asks you before an app can use these. You can change them any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
| Permission | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Full Disk Access | Adobe support suggests this as a workaround for repeated macOS prompts about access to other apps' data; it is not documented as a routine requirement. |
Security record
Problems with Adobe Illustrator or Adobe in the last three years, newest first. Keeping the app up to date covers the ones that were fixed.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe fixed flaws that could let an attacker run code on macOS in Illustrator 29.8 and 28.7.10. | ↗ | |
| Adobe fixed flaws that could run attacker code or stop Illustrator working on macOS in versions 29.7 and 28.7.9. | ↗ | |
| Adobe fixed flaws that could run attacker code, expose memory or stop Illustrator working on macOS in versions 29.6 and 28.7.8. | ↗ | |
| Adobe fixed a flaw that could let an attacker run code on macOS in Illustrator 29.4 and 28.7.6. | ↗ | |
| Adobe fixed flaws that could run attacker code, expose memory or stop Illustrator working on macOS in versions 29.3 and 28.7.5. | ↗ |
References
- Adobe Illustrator adobe.com
- Illustrator official download and trial adobe.com
- Illustrator macOS crash report showing its bundle identifier community.adobe.com
- Adobe co-founder Charles Geschke biography adobe.com
- Adobe's California history and headquarters blog.adobe.com
- Troubleshoot file opening and placement issues helpx.adobe.com
- Preferences folder read-only error in Illustrator helpx.adobe.com
- Work with Illustrator cloud documents helpx.adobe.com
- Download Creative Cloud apps helpx.adobe.com
- Check for app updates helpx.adobe.com
- Adobe Illustrator on desktop release notes helpx.adobe.com
- Network endpoints for Adobe apps and services helpx.adobe.com
- Adobe support response about repeated macOS data-access prompts community.adobe.com
- Cryptojacking Mac malware Honkbox found in pirated apps intego.com
- Illustrator security update APSB25-102 helpx.adobe.com
- Illustrator security update APSB25-74 helpx.adobe.com
- Illustrator security update APSB25-65 helpx.adobe.com
- Illustrator security update APSB25-43 helpx.adobe.com
- Illustrator security update APSB25-17 helpx.adobe.com