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IllustratorApplication · Adobe

CVE-2012-2042

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-05-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15 or later.
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
Adobe Illustrator before CS6 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-0780, CVE-2012-2023, CVE-2012-2024, CVE-2012-2025, and CVE-2012-2026.

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 · low confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Illustrator versions prior to CS6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Illustrator to CS6 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Organizations should prioritize patching given the CVSS 10 severity rating.

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:= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0= 11.0.1= 12.0.0= 13.0= 13.0.1= 13.0.2= 13.0.3= 14.0
Illustrator Cs5.5Application
Affected:<= 15

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/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. Verify Adobe Illustrator installation
    Check for Adobe Illustrator on the system by looking for the application in typical installation directories: Windows typically at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [Version]\Support Files\Contents\Windows\Illustrator.exe or macOS at /Applications/Adobe Illustrator [Version].app
    Affected if Adobe Illustrator is found installed on the system
  2. Determine installed Illustrator version (Windows)
    Right-click the Illustrator.exe file, select Properties, and view the Details tab to see the Product Version. Alternatively, open Illustrator and go to Help > About Adobe Illustrator.
    Affected if Version displayed is 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, 11.0, 11.0.1, 12.0.0, 13.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.2, 14.0, or any CS5.5 version with build number 15 or lower
  3. Determine installed Illustrator version (macOS)
    Locate Adobe Illustrator in the Applications folder, right-click the app bundle, select Get Info, and view the Version information under the General tab.
    Affected if Version displayed is any version prior to CS6 (versions 7.0 through 14.0, or CS5.5 with version 15 or lower)
  4. Confirm version is in affected range
    Compare the identified version number against the known affected versions: 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, 11.0, 11.0.1, 12.0.0, 13.0, 13.0.1, 13.0.2, 14.0 for standalone Illustrator; or CS5.5 with version/build 15 or lower.
    Affected if Installed version matches any of these specific versions or falls below CS6

A user is affected if Adobe Illustrator versions 7.0 through 14.0 or Illustrator CS5.5 versions 15 and below are installed on their system.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 15
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Illustrator to CS6 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Organizations should prioritize patching given the CVSS 10 severity rating.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Illustrator CS6 (version 16.0) or later / Adobe Creative Cloud

  1. 1. Verify current Adobe Illustrator version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Illustrator (or Illustrator > About Illustrator on Mac)
  2. 2. For systems running Illustrator 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, or 10.0: These are legacy versions that require a significant version jump to CS6 or later
  3. 3. For systems running Illustrator CS5.5: Check the version number - if it is 15.x or lower, the system is vulnerable
  4. 4. Download Adobe Illustrator CS6 or later from the official Adobe website (https://www.adobe.com/) or your organization's licensed software distribution channel
  5. 5. Ensure all critical business workflows are documented and backed up before upgrading
  6. 6. Uninstall the vulnerable Adobe Illustrator version through Windows Control Panel or macOS Applications folder
  7. 7. Install Adobe Illustrator CS6 or migrate to Adobe Creative Cloud for the latest version
  8. 8. After installation, verify the new version by checking Help > About Adobe Illustrator - it should show version CS6 (16.0) or later
Caveat Legacy plugins and extensions designed for versions 7.0-10.0 may be incompatible with CS6 or later; some older file formats may render differently; purchase of new license required if not on Creative Cloud subscription

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Illustrator Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,780
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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-2012-2042 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