CVE-2020-9684
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 versions Photoshop CC 2019, and Photoshop 2020 have an out-of-bounds write 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 confidenceAdobe Photoshop CC 2019 and 2020 contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that allows an attacker to write data beyond allocated memory boundaries. Successful exploitation enables arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.
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<= 21.2<= 20.0.9CVSS 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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Verify Photoshop is installedCheck for Adobe Photoshop installation in typical locations: Windows typically at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop [version] or macOS at /Applications/Adobe Photoshop [version].app. You can also check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Photoshop or use 'Get-ItemProperty' in PowerShell for installed software.Affected if Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 or 2020 is installed on the system
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Determine the installed Photoshop versionIn Photoshop, go to Help > About Photoshop. Alternatively on Windows check the executable properties of Photoshop.exe, or on macOS right-click the application and select Get Info to view the version number.Affected if The version displayed is 21.2 or lower for Photoshop (2020), or 20.0.9 or lower for Photoshop CC (2019)
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Confirm the exact product name and buildUse the application menu to identify whether you have Photoshop CC (subscription) or standalone Photoshop. The version number format differs between these product lines. Check Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app if installed, or review the original installer name.Affected if The product is identified as Photoshop CC 2019 (versions up to 20.0.9) or Photoshop 2020 (versions up to 21.2)
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Assess exposure through file handlingThis vulnerability triggers when processing specially crafted image files. Review whether users in your environment routinely open files from untrusted or external sources. Check recent usage patterns or file opening dialogs if logged.Affected if Users routinely open image files from untrusted or unknown sources without verification
Your environment is affected if Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 version 20.0.9 or lower, or Photoshop 2020 version 21.2 or lower is installed and users open untrusted image 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.
From vendor dataUpgrade to the latest version of Adobe Photoshop or apply the vendor-supplied security patch. Until patched, exercise caution when opening files from untrusted sources in Photoshop.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-9684 — 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-2020-9684 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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