CVE-2021-21051
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 Buffer Overflow vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted javascript 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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop when parsing specially crafted JavaScript files. An unauthenticated attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user by tricking a victim into opening a malicious JS 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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Locate Adobe Photoshop installationCheck standard installation paths: Windows typically at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop [version] or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop [version]; macOS typically at /Applications/Adobe Photoshop [version].appAffected if Adobe Photoshop is installed on the system
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Determine installed Photoshop versionOpen Photoshop, then go to Help > About Photoshop to display the version number, or locate a version file in the installation directoryAffected if Unable to retrieve version information
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Compare version against affected rangesIdentify the full version number (e.g., 21.2.4, 22.1.0) and determine if it falls within <= 21.2.4 OR >= 22.0 through <= 22.1.1Affected if Version is 21.2.4 or earlier, or between 22.0 and 22.1.1 inclusive
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Verify JS file parsing is possibleConfirm that Photoshop can open or process JavaScript files (.jsx, .js) through File > Open or by associating the application with JS file typesAffected if Photoshop is configured to handle JavaScript files and the user may open untrusted JS documents
User is affected if Adobe Photoshop version is 21.2.4 or earlier, or between 22.0 and 22.1.1 inclusive, and the application can parse JavaScript 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 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 to apply vendor-supplied patches.
- 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-2021-21051 — 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-2021-21051 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data