CVE-2021-21048
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 21.2.4 (and earlier) and 22.1.1 (and earlier) are affected by a Memory Corruption vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file
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 confidenceAdobe Photoshop contains a memory corruption vulnerability when parsing specially crafted files. An unauthenticated attacker can craft a malicious file that, when opened by a victim, triggers memory corruption leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. User interaction is required (opening the malicious file).
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<= 21.2.4>= 22.0, <= 22.1.1CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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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Identify installed Adobe Photoshop versionOpen Photoshop, then go to Help > About Photoshop (Windows) or Photoshop > About Photoshop (macOS). The version number appears in the dialog. Alternatively, on Windows check the file version of Photoshop.exe in the installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop [version]\Photoshop.exe). On macOS, right-click Photoshop.app > Get Info to see the version.Affected if The installed version cannot be determined or is in the affected ranges.
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Compare version against affected rangesNote the full version number (for example 21.2.3 or 22.1.0). Check if it falls into: 21.x branch versions 21.2.4 or lower, OR 22.x branch versions 22.0 through 22.1.1 inclusive.Affected if Version is 21.2.4 or lower, or between 22.0 and 22.1.1 inclusive.
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Confirm vulnerable file handling behaviorThis vulnerability triggers when Photoshop parses specially crafted image files. No specific configuration check applies - the flaw exists in the file parsing logic itself regardless of preferences or settings.Affected if Photoshop is installed and the version falls within the affected ranges listed in step 2.
If Adobe Photoshop is installed with version 21.2.4 or earlier (21.x branch) or version 22.0 through 22.1.1 (22.x branch), the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 version 21.2.5 or later for the 21.x branch, or version 22.1.2 or later for the 22.x branch. Avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited Photoshop files from unknown sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21048 — 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-2021-21048 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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