CVE-2020-9682
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 Creative Cloud Desktop Application versions 5.1 and earlier have a symlink vulnerability vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary file system write.
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 confidenceAdobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application versions 5.1 and earlier contains a symlink vulnerability that allows an attacker to manipulate symbolic links, enabling arbitrary file system write operations. This local privilege escalation issue can be exploited to overwrite sensitive system files or redirect file writes to attacker-controlled locations.
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<= 5.1CVSS 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.
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Identify installed Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop versionOpen the Creative Cloud desktop application, click the settings icon (gear) in the upper right, and select 'About Creative Cloud' to view the version number. Alternatively, navigate to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Creative Cloud and locate the version information in the application properties or manifest file.Affected if The displayed version number is 5.1 or lower (for example, 5.0, 4.x, or earlier).
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Locate application data directoriesNavigate to the user-specific application data folder where Creative Cloud stores temporary files and logs. Common paths include %APPDATA%\Adobe\Creative Cloud and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Adobe\Creative Cloud on Windows, or ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Creative Cloud on macOS.Affected if The application data directories exist and contain subfolders used by version 5.1 or earlier.
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Inspect for unauthorized symbolic linksUse the command 'dir /AL' on Windows or 'ls -la' on macOS within the Creative Cloud application data directories to list any symbolic links. Examine directories that accept user-controlled input or temp file locations for newly created symlinks pointing to sensitive system locations.Affected if Any symbolic links are present in these directories that were not created by the legitimate application, or symlinks point to system directories outside the Adobe folder structure.
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Verify file write permissions in application directoriesCheck file system permissions on the Creative Cloud application folders using 'icacls' on Windows or 'ls -le' on macOS. Determine whether standard user accounts have write access to directories that the application uses for file operations.Affected if Standard non-admin users have write/modify permissions to critical application directories used for temp file or log operations.
You are affected if Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application version 5.1 or earlier is installed and you find unauthorized symlinks or excessive user permissions in the application data directories.
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 · scopedUpdate Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application to a version newer than 5.1. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict user permissions to the application directories and monitor for suspicious symlink creation in application data folders.
Creative Cloud Desktop Application version 5.2 or later
- Download the latest Creative Cloud Desktop Application from the official Adobe website (adobe.com) or through the Creative Cloud desktop app itself
- Ensure you are running version 5.2 or later, as versions 5.1 and earlier contain the symlink vulnerability (CWE-59)
- If using an enterprise deployment, verify with your IT administrator that the update can be rolled out safely in your environment
- After upgrading, verify the installed version by opening Creative Cloud Desktop Application and checking the version information
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-9682 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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- 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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