dbcve.org
IllustratorApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-36008

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 25.2.3 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Adobe Illustrator version 25.2.3 (and earlier) is affected by an Use-after-free vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to read arbitrary file system information 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 confidence

Adobe Illustrator versions 25.2.3 and earlier contain a use-after-free vulnerability in the file parsing logic. When processing a specially crafted malicious file, the application improperly handles memory allocation, allowing an attacker to read arbitrary file system information accessible to the current user context. This is an information disclosure vulnerability requiring user interaction (opening a malicious file).

MitigationUpdate Adobe Illustrator to version 25.2.4 or later to obtain the vendor patch. Until patched, avoid opening files from untrusted sources.

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
IllustratorApplication
Affected:<= 25.2.3

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Verify Adobe Illustrator is installed
    Check for Adobe Illustrator in the system applications folder (Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator* or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator*; macOS: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator*) or look for the application in the Start Menu / Launchpad
    Affected if Adobe Illustrator is found on the system
  2. Locate the installed version number
    Windows: Right-click the Illustrator shortcut, select Properties, and check the Details tab for Product Version. Alternatively, open Illustrator and go to Help > About Adobe Illustrator. macOS: Right-click Illustrator in Applications, select Get Info, or open Illustrator and go to Illustrator > About Adobe Illustrator
    Affected if Unable to determine the version number
  3. Compare against affected version range
    If the version shown is 25.2.3 or any version number lower than 25.2.3 (such as 25.2, 25.1, 25.0, 24.x, etc.), the installation is within the affected range. Versions 25.2.4 and later are patched.
    Affected if Installed version is 25.2.3 or earlier (or any version starting with 25.0 through 25.2.x where x is 0-3)

If Adobe Illustrator version 25.2.3 or earlier is installed, the environment is affected by this vulnerability when processing untrusted 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 25.2.3
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Illustrator to version 25.2.4 or later to obtain the vendor patch. Until patched, avoid opening files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Illustrator 25.3 or later (subsequent security update release)

  1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or visit the Adobe Illustrator download page
  2. Check for available updates to Adobe Illustrator
  3. Download and install the latest version of Adobe Illustrator that includes the security fix for CVE-2021-36008
  4. Alternatively, open Illustrator and navigate to Help > Check for Updates to trigger the update process
  5. After updating, verify the installed version is higher than 25.2.3
Caveat Standard update - no major breaking changes expected for typical workflows; always backup custom presets and settings before updating

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

Fix this in Illustrator Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,880.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-36008 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