CVE-2021-21104
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 memory corruption vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to remote 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 memory corruption vulnerability during file parsing. When a user opens a specially crafted malicious file, an unauthenticated attacker can trigger memory corruption leading to remote 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 installed Adobe Illustrator versionOpen Adobe Illustrator, then go to Help > About Adobe Illustrator. Alternatively, on Windows check Programs and Features or the installation directory for version information. On macOS, check Applications folder info or /Library/Application Support/Adobe/ for version details.Affected if The version displayed is 25.2 or earlier (any version up to and including 25.2)
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Verify Illustrator file parsing is accessibleConfirm Adobe Illustrator is installed and functional with the ability to open .AI, .EPS, .PDF, or other supported file formats. The vulnerability triggers during file parsing operations.Affected if Illustrator is installed and can open or parse vector graphic files
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Identify user exposure to untrusted filesAudit typical workflows to determine if users open files from untrusted sources, external email attachments, or download files from the internet. Check file association settings that may automatically open files in Illustrator.Affected if Users routinely open files from untrusted or unknown sources, or file associations are enabled for automatic opening
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Review high-risk user environmentsIdentify users in roles that commonly receive or process files from external sources (designers, marketing staff, external contractors). Check if these users have elevated privileges.Affected if Users with access to untrusted files run Illustrator with standard user privileges, making RCE impact limited to their session
If Adobe Illustrator version 25.2 or earlier is installed and users can open untrusted or maliciously crafted files, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2021-21104.
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 a version newer than 25.2. Until patched, warn users not to open untrusted files and consider disabling file associations or restricting Illustrator use in high-risk environments.
Adobe Illustrator 25.2.1 or later (2021 release)
- Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or check for updates within Adobe Illustrator
- Navigate to the Help menu in Adobe Illustrator
- Select 'Check for Updates' or use the Creative Cloud app to check for available updates
- Download and install the latest available Adobe Illustrator version (version 25.2.1 or later)
- Restart Illustrator after the update is installed
- Verify the installed version by going to Help > About Adobe Illustrator to confirm the version is above 25.2
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21104 — 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-2021-21104 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