CVE-2021-21067
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 21.2.5 (and earlier) and 22.2 (and earlier) are affected by an Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability in the CoolType library. 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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop's CoolType library allows an unauthenticated attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution by tricking a victim into opening a malicious file. The vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking during font processing in the CoolType component.
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< 21.2.6>= 22.0, < 22.3CVSS 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:3.1/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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Check installed Adobe Photoshop versionOpen Photoshop, go to Help > About Photoshop (or Photoshop 2020). The version number appears in the title bar or about dialog. Alternatively, check the application file properties on disk.Affected if The version is less than 21.2.6 (for 21.x branch) OR is 22.0, 22.1, or 22.2 (for 22.x branch)
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Identify if CoolType font processing is in useThe CoolType component is used when Photoshop opens files containing embedded fonts, particularly PostScript Type 1 fonts in formats like EPS, AI, PDF, or PSD with font data. Inspect any files you have recently opened in Photoshop.Affected if You have opened or routinely process files with embedded PostScript fonts from untrusted sources
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Review recent file open operationsCheck your recent files list (File > Open Recent) or examine your file workflow for documents received from external or untrusted sources, especially .eps, .ai, or .pdf files that may contain malicious font data.Affected if You have opened files from untrusted or unexpected sources that contain embedded fonts since installing the vulnerable version
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Verify Windows event logs for crashesOpen Windows Event Viewer and check Application logs for crashes or errors related to 'CoolType' or 'Photoshop.exe' that occurred while processing font-containing files.Affected if There are crash events tied to font processing operations in the vulnerable version range
You are affected if your installed Photoshop version falls within 21.0 through 21.2.5 or 22.0 through 22.2, and you open malicious files with embedded PostScript fonts.
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 data21.2.622.3
Update Adobe Photoshop to the latest version (21.2.6 or later for the 21.x branch, 22.3 or later for the 22.x branch). Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected files until the update is applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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-2021-21067 — 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-2021-21067 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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