CVE-2020-3774
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 · uneditedAdobe Photoshop CC 2019 versions 20.0.8 and earlier, and Photoshop 2020 versions 21.1 and earlier have a buffer errors vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
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 confidenceBuffer errors vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 (versions 20.0.8 and earlier) and Photoshop 2020 (versions 21.1 and earlier) allowing arbitrary code execution via memory corruption.
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>= 21.0, <= 21.1>= 20.0, <= 20.0.8CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate installed Adobe Photoshop applicationOn Windows, check C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2020 or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2019. On Mac, check /Applications/Adobe Photoshop 2020 or /Applications/Adobe Photoshop CC 2019.Affected if The application folder exists and contains a Photoshop executable
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Retrieve installed Photoshop version numberOpen Photoshop and go to Help > About Photoshop, or on Windows run 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Photoshop\InstallVersion" /v Version' via command prompt. On Mac, run 'defaults read /Applications/Adobe\ Photoshop\ 2020.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString' (adjust path for CC 2019).Affected if A version number is returned showing the exact installed build
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Compare version against affected rangesIf using Photoshop 2020, check if version is 21.0 through 21.1. If using Photoshop CC 2019, check if version is 20.0 through 20.0.8.Affected if Version falls within 21.0 to 21.1 (2020) or 20.0 to 20.0.8 (CC 2019)
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Confirm build number for precise affected rangeThe About dialog shows both version and build number. Photoshop 2020 version 21.0 typically corresponds to build 21.0.x and version 21.1 to build 21.1.x.Affected if Build matches an affected release within the stated version ranges
You are affected if Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 (20.0 to 20.0.8) or Photoshop 2020 (21.0 to 21.1) is installed, as the buffer error vulnerability exists in these specific version ranges.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate Adobe Photoshop to the latest patched version to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,848.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3774 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-3774 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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