Do what you're told. If you're told to use cracked software, then use cracked software. If you're told not to buy licenses, then don't buy licenses. You're an engineer, not a lawyer, and the legal aspects are not your problem. Your responsibility begins and ends when you tell your manager (not even the CEO, just your manager) "hey, we probably shouldn't be doing this, are you sure?"; that's all you need to do, the rest is not your problem.
Now, if you are running into issues with the software that could be solved by paying for a license, and that's impacting your performance, then you can raise that as an issue: "I could work better/faster if you'd buy a license". But again, that's where your responsibility ends. It's about what impact this issue has on you, personally, and your output for the company, and nothing else is your problem.
The other issue, of course, is what happens if your company is found out to be using these applications illegally. As you said, lawsuits, lawyer fees, and probably bankruptcy. This means your company won't have money to pay you and you won't have a job or a salary if this happens. And so, my suggestion is to find another job ASAP, so you're not in the middle of the mess when it happens.
Edit: @Old_Lamplighter mentioned in the comments that you could be legally liable personally for using the cracked software despite management. You may want to look into whether you could face personal legal challenges with regard to this; if this is the case in your locale, you should probably find a new job as immediately as possible, although this being Covid and not sure of the market in your area I think I'd stop short of telling you to quit immediately, because paying rent is important.