CVE-2021-28591
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 25.2.3 (and earlier) is affected by an Out-of-bounds Write 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 25.2.3 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability when parsing specially crafted files. An unauthenticated attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user by enticing the victim to open a malicious file.
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<= 25.2.3CVSS 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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Identify if Adobe Illustrator is installedCheck common installation paths (C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator 2021\Support Files\Contents\Windows\Illustrator.exe or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator 2022\Support Files\Contents\Windows\Illustrator.exe) or query the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths for Adobe Illustrator entriesAffected if Adobe Illustrator is found on the system
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Determine the installed version numberRight-click the Illustrator.exe file, select Properties, and view the Product Version on the Details tab. Alternatively, open Adobe Illustrator, go to Help > About Adobe Illustrator to display the exact version numberAffected if Version cannot be determined or is <= 25.2.3
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Compare version against affected rangeParse the version number obtained and compare numerically against 25.2.3 (for example, 25.2.3, 25.2.2, 25.2.1, 25.2.0, 24.x, and earlier are all within the affected range)Affected if Installed version is 25.2.3 or any earlier version (including 25.x, 24.x, and older releases)
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Assess exposure to malicious file riskReview whether the system routinely opens Adobe Illustrator files (.ai, .eps, .pdf variants) from external or untrusted sources, or if users have permissions to open attachments from unknown sendersAffected if Users can be persuaded to open specially crafted malicious files (the attack requires user interaction to open a malicious file)
The environment is affected if Adobe Illustrator version 25.2.3 or earlier is installed and users may open untrusted or unsolicited .ai or related graphics 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 a version newer than 25.2.3. Avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited files, and consider implementing endpoint detection and application sandboxing as defense-in-depth measures.
Adobe Illustrator 25.3 (or later)
- Open Adobe Creative Cloud or Adobe Illustrator
- Check for available updates in the Updates section
- Download and install Adobe Illustrator version 25.3 or later
- Restart the application after the update completes
- Verify the installed version by going to Help > About Adobe Illustrator
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $2,144.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-28591 — 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-2021-28591 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