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PhotoshopApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-24098

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 23.2.2 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
Adobe Photoshop versions 22.5.6 (and earlier)and 23.2.2 (and earlier) are affected by an improper input validation vulnerability when parsing a PCX file 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 PCX 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 Photoshop contains an improper input validation vulnerability in its PCX file parser. When a user opens a specially crafted malicious PCX file, the parser fails to properly validate input data, allowing an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution with the current user's privileges.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Photoshop to version 23.3 or later (for 23.x) or 22.5.7 or later (for 22.x). Avoid opening untrusted PCX files from unknown 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
PhotoshopApplication
Affected:<= 22.5.6>= 23.0.0, <= 23.2.2

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. Verify Adobe Photoshop is installed
    Check for Photoshop installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop [version]) or look for Photoshop in installed programs
    Affected if Adobe Photoshop is present on the system
  2. Determine installed Photoshop version
    Open Photoshop, go to Help > About Photoshop to display the version number, or right-click the Photoshop executable and select Properties > Details to view the Product Version
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or falls within affected ranges
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Check if the installed version is: 22.5.6 or lower, OR between 23.0.0 and 23.2.2 (inclusive)
    Affected if Installed version is <= 22.5.6 OR (>= 23.0.0 AND <= 23.2.2)
  4. Confirm PCX file handling is possible
    Photoshop includes built-in support for PCX files as a native file format; attempt to open any PCX file or check File > Open supported formats list
    Affected if PCX file format support exists in this installation

User is affected if Adobe Photoshop is installed AND the version falls within <= 22.5.6 OR (>= 23.0.0 through 23.2.2), and the application can open PCX 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 23.2.2
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Photoshop to version 23.3 or later (for 23.x) or 22.5.7 or later (for 22.x). Avoid opening untrusted PCX files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Photoshop 2021: upgrade to 22.5.7 or later; Photoshop 2022: upgrade to 23.3.0 or later

  1. 1. Verify the currently installed Adobe Photoshop version by going to Help > About Photoshop
  2. 2. For Photoshop 2021 (22.x line): Download and install version 22.5.7 or later from the Adobe website
  3. 3. For Photoshop 2022 (23.x line): Download and install version 23.3.0 or later from the Adobe website
  4. 4. Restart Photoshop after the update completes
  5. 5. Verify the updated version by checking Help > About Photoshop
  6. 6. Exercise caution when opening PCX files from untrusted sources
Caveat Standard minor version upgrades typically have minimal breaking changes; however, always back up custom presets and workspaces before updating

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

Fix this in Photoshop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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-2022-24098 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