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PhotoshopApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-21574

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 23.5.4 / 24.1.1 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
Photoshop version 23.5.3 (and earlier), 24.1 (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 confidence

Adobe Photoshop contains an improper input validation vulnerability in its file parsing functionality. When processing a specially crafted malicious file, the application fails to properly validate input data, allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. The victim must open the malicious file for exploitation to succeed.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Photoshop to version 24.2 or later (for 24.x branch) or version 23.5.4 or later (for 23.x branch). Until patching is possible, avoid opening untrusted 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:>= 23.0.0, < 23.5.4>= 24.0.0, < 24.1.1

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. Check installed Photoshop version via Help menu
    Open Adobe Photoshop, go to Help > About Photoshop. The version number is displayed in the dialog that appears.
    Affected if The version shown is 23.0.0 through 23.5.3, or 24.0.0 through 24.1.0 (inclusive of endpoints in the affected ranges)
  2. Check Photoshop version via command line
    On Windows, run 'Photoshop.exe /VERSION' or check the version property of the executable file in Program Files. On macOS, right-click the Photoshop application, select Get Info, and view the version number.
    Affected if The version shown is within the affected ranges: 23.0.0 to 23.5.3 for 23.x branch, or 24.0.0 to 24.1.0 for 24.x branch
  3. Confirm file parsing is in use
    This vulnerability is triggered when Photoshop parses specially crafted files. Any use of Photoshop to open files (especially from untrusted sources) exercises the affected file parsing code.
    Affected if The user opens or processes files in Photoshop - this is the standard use case and the vulnerability triggers upon opening a malicious file
  4. Verify installed version against safe releases
    Compare your installed version to the fixed releases: version 23.5.4 or later for the 23.x branch, or version 24.2.0 or later for the 24.x branch.
    Affected if Your installed version is earlier than 23.5.4 (for 23.x) or earlier than 24.2 (for 24.x)

You are affected if you are running Adobe Photoshop version 23.0.0 through 23.5.3 or version 24.0.0 through 24.1.0 and you open files, particularly from untrusted sources.

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 23.5.4 / 24.1.1 or later
Fixed in 23.5.424.1.1
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Photoshop to version 24.2 or later (for 24.x branch) or version 23.5.4 or later (for 23.x branch). Until patching is possible, avoid opening untrusted files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Photoshop 23.5.4 or 24.1.1 (depending on your major version branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Photoshop version by launching Photoshop and navigating to Help > About Photoshop
  2. 2. If running version 23.0.0 through 23.5.3, upgrade to version 23.5.4 or later
  3. 3. If running version 24.0.0 through 24.1.0, upgrade to version 24.1.1 or later
  4. 4. Download the fixed version from the official Adobe website or use the Creative Cloud desktop application to update
  5. 5. Restart Photoshop after installation
  6. 6. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release (23.5.4 or 24.1.1 or higher)

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-2023-21574 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