CVE-2020-3783
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 heap corruption 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 · high confidenceHeap corruption vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 (versions 20.0.8 and earlier) and Photoshop 2020 (versions 21.1 and earlier) allows arbitrary code execution through specially crafted files that trigger improper memory handling.
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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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.
-
Identify installed Photoshop versionOpen Photoshop, go to Help > About Photoshop, or right-click the Photoshop application in the installation directory and view Properties to see the version numberAffected if Version cannot be determined or is not visible
-
Confirm Photoshop 2020 versionIf installed version starts with 21.x, check if it is 21.0, 21.0.1, 21.0.2, or 21.1Affected if Version is 21.0 through 21.1 (inclusive)
-
Confirm Photoshop CC 2019 versionIf installed version starts with 20.x, check if it is 20.0 through 20.0.8Affected if Version is 20.0 through 20.0.8 (inclusive)
-
Note vulnerability trigger conditionThis vulnerability is triggered when opening specially crafted files - no specific configuration check needed; the vulnerability exists in the application code itself for the affected versionsAffected if Affected version is in use regardless of configuration
If Photoshop 2020 version 21.0-21.1 or Photoshop CC 2019 version 20.0-20.0.8 is installed, the environment is vulnerable to arbitrary code execution via specially crafted files.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to Photoshop CC 2019 version 20.0.9 or later and Photoshop 2020 version 21.1.2 or later (or the latest available versions) to address the vulnerability.
Photoshop CC 2019 version 20.0.9 or later / Photoshop 2020 version 21.2 or later
- 1. Close any running instances of Adobe Photoshop
- 2. Back up any custom presets, brushes, and work files before upgrading
- 3. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application
- 4. Navigate to the 'Apps' section and find Photoshop in your installed apps
- 5. Click the 'Update' button next to Photoshop to install the latest version
- 6. Alternatively, download the latest Photoshop version from the Adobe website and run the installer
- 7. After installation, verify the version number in Photoshop by going to Help > About Photoshop
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3783 — 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-2020-3783 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data