MediumApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-28580

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.4.5.331 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
Medium by Adobe version 2.4.5.331 (and earlier) is affected by a buffer overflow vulnerability when parsing a crafted file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve 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 · moderate confidence

Adobe Medium version 2.4.5.331 and earlier contains a buffer overflow vulnerability when parsing specially crafted files. Successful exploitation allows an unauthenticated attacker to achieve remote code execution in the context of the current user, but requires victim interaction (opening a malicious file).

MitigationUsers should avoid opening files from untrusted or unknown sources. Organizations should identify and upgrade Adobe Medium installations to the latest patched version, or uninstall the software if not required.

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
MediumApplication
Affected:<= 2.4.5.331

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Adobe Medium installation
    On Windows, check for Adobe Medium in Program Files or scan registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'Adobe Medium'. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Medium.app
    Affected if Adobe Medium software is found on the system
  2. Retrieve installed version number
    On Windows, locate the Adobe Medium uninstall registry key and read the DisplayVersion value, or right-click the executable in Program Files and view Properties > Details. On macOS, right-click Adobe Medium.app, select Get Info, and read the Version field
    Affected if Unable to determine version but software is present
  3. Compare against vulnerable version range
    Compare your extracted version against the affected range: any version numbered 2.4.5.331 or earlier is vulnerable
    Affected if Installed version is 2.4.5.331 or any version number lower than 2.4.5.331

System is affected if Adobe Medium version 2.4.5.331 or earlier is installed and capable of opening files

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.4.5.331
Interim mitigation

Users should avoid opening files from untrusted or unknown sources. Organizations should identify and upgrade Adobe Medium installations to the latest patched version, or uninstall the software if not required.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Medium version 2.4.5.332 or later (or latest available version)

  1. Navigate to the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or Adobe Medium download page
  2. Check the current installed version of Adobe Medium (formerly Adobe Creative Cloud Express)
  3. If the installed version is 2.4.5.331 or earlier, initiate an update to obtain the latest version
  4. Alternatively, uninstall the current version and download the latest version from Adobe's official website
  5. After updating, verify the new version number to confirm the patch has been applied
  6. Ensure users are warned not to open untrusted or unsolicited files to mitigate the user interaction requirement for exploitation
Caveat Standard minor version upgrade - minimal risk; ensure compatibility with existing workflows

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Medium Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get the upgrade done

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

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-28580 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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