CVE-2023-21577
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 · uneditedPhotoshop version 23.5.3 (and earlier), 24.1 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. 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 contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in versions 23.5.3 and earlier, and 24.1 and earlier. The vulnerability allows reading memory outside allocated buffers, potentially exposing sensitive information such as memory addresses that could be used to bypass ASLR mitigations. Exploitation requires a victim to open a maliciously crafted file.
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>= 23.0.0, < 23.5.4>= 24.0.0, < 24.1.1CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Check installed Photoshop version on WindowsOpen Photoshop, go to Help > About Photoshop, or right-click the Photoshop.exe file and select Properties > Details to view the Product VersionAffected if The version shown is 23.5.3 or earlier, OR 24.1 or earlier (falls within 23.0.0-23.5.3 or 24.0.0-24.1)
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Check installed Photoshop version on macOSOpen Photoshop, go to Photoshop > About Photoshop, or right-click the Photoshop.app bundle and select Get Info to view the version numberAffected if The version shown is 23.5.3 or earlier, OR 24.1 or earlier (falls within 23.0.0-23.5.3 or 24.0.0-24.1)
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Check Photoshop version via Registry (Windows)Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Photoshop\InstallVersion, or search for the key containing the installed version valueAffected if The version value is less than 23.5.4 AND less than 24.1.1
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Verify exact version number against affected rangesCompare your detected version to the affected ranges: version 23.0.0 through 23.5.3 is affected; version 24.0.0 through 24.1 is affected. Versions 23.5.4 and later, or 24.1.1 and later, are NOT affectedAffected if Your installed version matches 23.0.0-23.5.3 or 24.0.0-24.1
You are affected if Photoshop is installed with any version from 23.0.0 to 23.5.3, or from 24.0.0 to 24.1. Update to 23.5.4 or later, or 24.1.1 or later to resolve the vulnerability.
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 · scoped23.5.424.1.1
Update Adobe Photoshop to a version newer than 23.5.3 and 24.1. Additionally, train users to avoid opening files from untrusted sources, as user interaction is required for exploitation.
Photoshop 23.5.4 or later for 23.x line; Photoshop 24.1.1 or later for 24.x line
- Close Adobe Photoshop if it is currently running
- Open the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application
- Navigate to the 'Apps' or 'All Apps' section
- Find Adobe Photoshop in the list of installed applications
- Click the 'Update' button next to Photoshop to install the latest version, or manually select version 23.5.4 or 24.1.1
- Wait for the download and installation to complete
- Restart your computer if prompted
- Launch Photoshop and verify the installed version by going to Help > About Photoshop
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21577 — 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-2023-21577 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