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IllustratorApplication · Adobe

CVE-2008-3961

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-09-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in Adobe Illustrator CS2 on Macintosh allow user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted AI file.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in Adobe Illustrator CS2 on Mac allow user-assisted attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution through specially crafted AI files. The vulnerabilities require a user to open a malicious file, after which code can execute with the privileges of the running application.

MitigationUpgrade from Adobe Illustrator CS2 to a currently supported version, as CS2 is long-unsupported. Until then, exercise extreme caution with AI files from untrusted sources and consider removing the software if no longer needed.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
IllustratorApplication
Affected:= cs2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate Adobe Illustrator installation
    Check /Applications folder for 'Adobe Illustrator CS2' folder or application file
    Affected if The Adobe Illustrator CS2 folder or application exists on the system
  2. Verify the exact version number
    Right-click Adobe Illustrator CS2 app, select Get Info, and check the version number. CS2 corresponds to version 12.0.x
    Affected if Version number shows 12.0.x indicating CS2 release
  3. Confirm Mac OS environment
    Verify the system is running Mac OS (Apple menu > About This Mac)
    Affected if System is running Mac OS and Adobe Illustrator CS2 is installed
  4. Check for recent usage or scheduled tasks
    Review recently opened files or check Application Support folders for Adobe Illustrator CS2 preferences
    Affected if Adobe Illustrator CS2 has been used recently on this Mac

If Adobe Illustrator CS2 (version 12.0.x) is installed on a Mac system, the environment is affected by this vulnerability and opening a malicious AI file could allow arbitrary code execution with application privileges.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade from Adobe Illustrator CS2 to a currently supported version, as CS2 is long-unsupported. Until then, exercise extreme caution with AI files from untrusted sources and consider removing the software if no longer needed.

Fix this in Illustrator Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-3961 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data