CVE-2022-38435
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 versions 26.4 (and earlier) and 25.4.7 (and earlier) are affected by an Improper Input Validation 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 Illustrator versions 26.4 and earlier, and 25.4.7 and earlier contain an improper input validation vulnerability during file parsing. An attacker can craft a malicious file that, when opened by a victim, allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user's privileges.
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<= 25.4.7>= 26.0, <= 26.4CVSS 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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Locate Adobe Illustrator installationCheck common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator or search for 'Illustrator.exe' on the system using file explorer or command-line search tools like 'where /r C:\ Illustrator.exe'Affected if Adobe Illustrator executable is found on the system
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Identify installed version numberRight-click the Illustrator.exe file, select Properties, then navigate to the Details tab to view the Product Version field. Alternatively, open Illustrator, go to Help > About Adobe Illustrator to display the version number.Affected if Version displayed is 26.4 or earlier, or 25.4.7 or earlier
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Compare against affected version rangesReview the version number against these ranges: any version from 26.0 through 26.4, or any version up to and including 25.4.7Affected if Installed version falls within 26.0-26.4 or 25.4.7 and below
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Assess user interaction riskDetermine whether users in the environment routinely open Illustrator files (.ai, .eps, .pdf, .svg) from external or untrusted sources, as exploitation requires a user to open a maliciously crafted fileAffected if Users open Illustrator files from untrusted or unknown sources without verification
The environment is affected if Adobe Illustrator version 26.4 or earlier, or version 25.4.7 or earlier, is installed AND users may open files from untrusted sources.
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 the patched version provided by Adobe. Additionally, enforce user awareness to avoid opening files from untrusted or unknown sources, as exploitation requires user interaction.
Adobe Illustrator 26.5 or later (also applicable to 25.x line - 25.5 or later)
- 1. Close Adobe Illustrator if it is currently running
- 2. Back up any custom presets, plugins, or work files to a secure location
- 3. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to helpx.adobe.com/illustrator
- 4. Locate Adobe Illustrator in your installed applications
- 5. Click Update or Check for Updates to download the latest version
- 6. Wait for the download and installation to complete
- 7. Restart your computer after installation finishes
- 8. Open Illustrator and verify the version number matches the fixed release (26.5 or later)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-38435 — 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-2022-38435 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