CVE-2021-21102
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 Illustrator version 25.2 (and earlier) is affected by a Path Traversal 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 Illustrator versions 25.2 and earlier contain a path traversal vulnerability when parsing specially crafted files. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to write arbitrary files to the filesystem by manipulating file paths in a malicious file, leading to 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<= 25.2CVSS 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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Check Adobe Illustrator installed versionOpen Adobe Illustrator, then go to Help > About Adobe Illustrator to view the version number. Alternatively, check the application in the system registry (Windows: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Illustrator or via Programs and Features), or inspect the application bundle on macOS.Affected if The displayed version is 25.2 or any version number lower than 25.2 (e.g., 25.1, 25.0, 24.x)
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Confirm the specific build numberNote any build number or update version shown in the About dialog, as some updates may appear as sub-versions. Compare this against version 25.2.1 which contains the fix.Affected if The build indicates a version at or below 25.2 without the security patch applied
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Identify if the application parses untrusted filesDetermine whether Illustrator is configured to open files from external or untrusted sources, or if users routinely open .ai, .eps, or other Illustrator file formats from unknown senders.Affected if Users open maliciously crafted .ai or .eps files from untrusted sources, enabling the path traversal during file parsing
You are affected if Adobe Illustrator version is 25.2 or earlier and users in your environment open untrusted or specially crafted Illustrator 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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate Adobe Illustrator to version 25.2.1 or later. Avoid opening untrusted files and implement user training on the risks of opening attachments from unknown sources.
Adobe Illustrator 25.2.1 or later
- Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or Illustrator
- Navigate to the Updates section to check for available updates
- Update Adobe Illustrator to version 25.2.1 or later
- Alternatively, download the latest version from Adobe's official website at adobe.com
- After updating, verify the version by opening Illustrator and going to Help > About Illustrator
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21102 — 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-2021-21102 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