CVE-2021-40708
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 Genuine Service versions 7.3 (and earlier) are affected by a privilege escalation vulnerability in the AGSService installer. An authenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve read / write privileges to execute arbitrary code. User interaction is required to abuse this vulnerability.
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 Genuine Service versions 7.3 and earlier contain a privilege escalation vulnerability in the AGSService installer. An authenticated attacker can leverage insufficient access controls during the installation process to gain read/write privileges and execute arbitrary code. User interaction is required to trigger the attack.
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<= 7.3CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 Adobe Genuine Service versionCheck the installed version of Adobe Genuine Service in the system. Common locations: Program Files/Adobe/Adobe Genuine Service or check via Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Genuine Service. Use 'wmic product get name,version' or check the service properties.Affected if The installed version is 7.3 or earlier (any version up to and including 7.3)
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Verify AGSService installer presenceLocate the AGSService installer executable on the system. Check common installation directories or search for files named 'AGSService.exe' or similar Adobe Genuine Service installer binaries.Affected if The AGSService installer is present on the system
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Check AGSService file permissionsRight-click the AGSService installer or service executable, go to Properties > Security, and review the permissions assigned to users and groups. Look for overly permissive access controls allowing authenticated users read/write or execute permissions.Affected if Authenticated users have write or execute permissions on the AGSService installer files beyond what is strictly necessary for operation
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Review installation process logsExamine Adobe Genuine Service installation or update logs for signs of the vulnerability being triggered. Check Windows Event Viewer for installation-related events and any unexpected installer behavior.Affected if Installation logs show unexpected privilege escalation attempts or unauthorized file access during the Adobe Genuine Service installation process
A user is affected if Adobe Genuine Service version 7.3 or earlier is installed and the AGSService installer has insufficient access controls that allow authenticated attackers to escalate privileges.
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 · scopedUpgrade to a patched version of Adobe Genuine Service when available. Until then, restrict installer execution permissions and monitor for suspicious installer behavior.
Latest version of Adobe Genuine Service (version > 7.3)
- Verify the current version of Adobe Genuine Service installed on the system
- Navigate to the official Adobe download page or use Adobe's official update mechanism
- Download and install the latest version of Adobe Genuine Service that is newer than version 7.3
- Restart the system if required after the update
- Verify the installation was successful and confirm the new version number
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40708 — 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-2021-40708 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