CVE-2021-21068
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 version 5.3 (and earlier) is affected by a file handling vulnerability that could allow an attacker to cause arbitrary file overwriting. Exploitation of this issue requires physical access and user interaction.
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 5.3 and earlier contain a file handling vulnerability that allows an attacker to cause arbitrary file overwriting. Exploitation requires physical access to the target machine and user interaction.
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<= 5.3CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:H/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 Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application is installedOpen the Creative Cloud Desktop application or check your system's list of installed programs. On Windows, open Programs and Features. On macOS, open Finder > Applications and look for Creative Cloud.Affected if The application is present on the system
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Determine the installed version of Creative Cloud DesktopIn the Creative Cloud Desktop application, click the user icon in the upper right, then select Settings (gear icon) > Apps. Alternatively, on Windows you may find version information in the application properties or in the Creative Cloud install directory.Affected if Version cannot be determined or is <= 5.3
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Compare your version against the affected rangeCheck the version number found in the previous step against the affected range: any version 5.3 or earlier is vulnerable.Affected if Installed version is 5.3 or any earlier version (such as 5.2, 5.1, 5.0, etc.)
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Note the exploitation requirementsThis vulnerability requires physical access to the machine and user interaction to succeed. Consider whether your device could be accessed by unauthorized persons.Affected if Device is physically accessible to untrusted individuals while the vulnerable application is installed
You are affected if Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application version 5.3 or earlier is installed on your system.
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 Creative Cloud Desktop Application to a version newer than 5.3. Since exploitation requires physical access, ensure devices are protected against unauthorized physical access and exercise caution with user interactions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21068 — 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-2021-21068 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data