CVE-2024-20754
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 · uneditedLightroom Desktop versions 7.1.2 and earlier are affected by an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. If the application uses a search path to locate critical resources such as programs, then an attacker could modify that search path to point to a malicious program, which the targeted application would then execute. 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 confidenceLightroom Desktop versions 7.1.2 and earlier contain an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability where the application uses a search path to locate critical resources, and an attacker can modify this path to point to a malicious program that gets executed when the victim opens a malicious file, resulting in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.
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< 7.2CVSS 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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Confirm Lightroom installation and versionOpen Lightroom Desktop, go to Help > About Adobe Lightroom, or check the installed version via system registry (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Lightroom\Version on Windows, or /Applications/Adobe Lightroom on macOS)Affected if Installed version is 7.1.2 or earlier, or any version below 7.2
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Inspect Lightroom application directory for unexpected filesExamine the Lightroom installation folder (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Lightroom on Windows or /Applications/Adobe Lightroom on macOS) for newly added DLLs, EXEs, or scripts that are not part of a standard installationAffected if Unexpected DLLs, executables, or scripts exist in the application directory, especially with recent modification dates
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Check for path manipulation in resource directoriesReview directories that Lightroom uses for loading resources (plugins, presets, camera profiles) for suspicious executable files that could be substituted for legitimate resourcesAffected if Unexpected .exe, .dll, .bat, or .ps1 files are found in Lightroom resource folders (presets, plugins, camera profiles directories)
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Verify integrity of Lightroom executable directoryCompare file hashes of core Lightroom executables (Lightroom.exe, Lightroom.dll) against known-good values from a clean installation, or check file timestamps for recent unauthorized changesAffected if Core executable files have been modified, show different hashes than expected, or have recent unexpected modification dates
A user is affected if they have Adobe Lightroom Desktop version 7.1.2 or earlier installed, or if unauthorized executable files exist in Lightroom's application or resource directories indicating path manipulation.
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 · scoped7.2
Apply the vendor patch when released by Adobe; in the meantime, ensure users do not open untrusted files and verify the integrity of Lightroom's executable directory to prevent path manipulation attacks.
Lightroom Desktop 7.2 or later
- Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or Lightroom Desktop
- Check for available updates in the Updates section
- Update Lightroom Desktop to version 7.2 or later
- Alternatively, open Lightroom Desktop and go to Help > Check for Updates
- Verify the installed version is 7.2 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-20754 — 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-2024-20754 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