CVE-2021-36065
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 Photoshop versions 21.2.10 (and earlier) and 22.4.3 (and earlier) are affected by a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that could result in 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 Photoshop versions 21.2.10 and earlier, and 22.4.3 and earlier contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that can be triggered by opening a specially crafted 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>= 21.2.0, <= 21.2.10>= 22.4.0, <= 22.4.3CVSS 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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Determine installed Photoshop versionOpen Photoshop, go to Help > About Photoshop, or check the file version of Photoshop.exe in the installation directory (right-click > Properties > Details). On Windows, also check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Photoshop\InstallVersion.Affected if Version falls within 21.2.0-21.2.10 or 22.4.0-22.4.3
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Confirm Photoshop edition (2021 vs 2022)The version number indicates the release year: versions 21.x correspond to Photoshop 2021, and versions 22.x correspond to Photoshop 2022. Check the version displayed in Help > About Photoshop.Affected if Edition is 2021 (version 21.x) in range 21.2.0-21.2.10, or 2022 (version 22.x) in range 22.4.0-22.4.3
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Identify if untrusted files were openedReview recent file access or check if any unexpected or untrusted image files (.psd, .png, .jpg, .tif, or other image formats) were opened in Photoshop around the time of potential compromise.Affected if A specially crafted malicious image file was opened in the affected Photoshop version
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Check for suspicious behaviorReview system logs, browser downloads, or email attachments for evidence of recently opened untrusted image files that may have been downloaded from untrusted sources.Affected if Unexpected image files from untrusted sources were opened in Photoshop
A user is affected if their installed Photoshop version is 21.2.0 through 21.2.10 or 22.4.0 through 22.4.3 AND they have opened a specially crafted malicious image file.
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 Photoshop to version 22.5 or later to patch the vulnerability. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected image files from untrusted sources.
Photoshop 21.2.11 or later for the 21.x line; Photoshop 22.4.4 or later for the 22.x line
- Open Adobe Photoshop
- Navigate to Help > Check for Updates
- Allow Adobe Creative Cloud to check for and install the latest version
- Alternatively, download the latest version from the official Adobe website
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-36065 — 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-2021-36065 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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- 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