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After EffectsApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-22239

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 22.6.4 / 23.2.0 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
After Affects versions 23.1 (and earlier), 22.6.3 (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. By opening a specially crafted malicious file, an attacker can trigger arbitrary code execution within the context of the current user's session. This affects both the 23.x branch (versions 23.1 and earlier) and 22.x branch (versions 22.6.3 and earlier).

MitigationUpgrade Adobe Photoshop to version 23.2 or later (or 22.6.4 or later for the 22.x branch). Avoid opening Photoshop files from untrusted or 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
After EffectsApplication
Affected:>= 22.0.0, < 22.6.4>= 23.0.0, < 23.2.0

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. Identify installed Adobe Photoshop version
    Open Photoshop, go to Help > About Photoshop, or check Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel for the version number
    Affected if Version is 22.x at 22.6.3 or earlier, OR 23.x at 23.1 or earlier
  2. Check Windows registry for Photoshop version
    Run 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Photoshop" /v Version' or check HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe\Photoshop on 64-bit systems
    Affected if Returned version matches 22.x <= 22.6.3 or 23.x <= 23.1
  3. Verify file parsing features are in use
    The vulnerability is triggered when opening specially crafted malicious files. Check recent .PSD or image files opened from untrusted sources in the application event log
    Affected if User has opened files from untrusted or unknown sources in the affected version range
  4. Check for suspicious recent file activity
    Review Photoshop recent files list (Edit > Preferences > File Handling > Recent Files List) for any unknown or unexpected file origins
    Affected if Unknown or malicious files may have been opened, potentially exploiting this vulnerability

A user is affected if Adobe Photoshop version 22.6.3 or earlier (22.x branch) or 23.1 or earlier (23.x branch) is installed and the user has opened a maliciously crafted file.

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 22.6.4 / 23.2.0 or later
Fixed in 22.6.423.2.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Adobe Photoshop to version 23.2 or later (or 22.6.4 or later for the 22.x branch). Avoid opening Photoshop files from untrusted or unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

After Effects 22.6.4 (for 22.x branch) or 23.2.0 (for 23.x branch)

  1. Identify the currently installed After Effects version by opening After Effects and going to Help > About After Effects
  2. If version is 22.x (22.0.0 through 22.6.3), upgrade to version 22.6.4 or later
  3. If version is 23.0.0 through 23.1.x, upgrade to version 23.2.0 or later
  4. Download the updated version from the official Adobe website at helpx.adobe.com or through the Creative Cloud desktop application
  5. Install the updated version and restart After Effects
  6. Verify the installed version reflects the patched release (22.6.4+ or 23.2.0+)

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

Fix this in After Effects Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2023-22239 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