CVE-2025-21162
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 Elements versions 2025.0 and earlier are affected by a Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Incorrect Permissions vulnerability that could result in privilege escalation 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 · moderate confidenceAdobe Photoshop Elements creates temporary files with insecure permissions, allowing a local attacker to potentially escalate privileges by overwriting or manipulating these files. The vulnerability requires user interaction (opening a malicious file) to trigger, and exploitation results in privilege escalation within the current user's context.
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= 2025.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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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Verify Adobe Photoshop Elements versionOpen Adobe Photoshop Elements 2025, go to Help > About Photoshop Elements, or check Programs and Features in Control Panel for the exact version numberAffected if The installed version is exactly 2025.0
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Confirm temp file creation during file operationsOpen the application and open/edit an image file, then monitor for newly created files in the system temp directory (typically %TEMP% or /tmp) using Process Monitor or similar toolingAffected if The application creates temporary files when opening or editing images
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Inspect temporary file permissionsUse icacls (Windows) or ls -la (macOS/Linux) on temp files created by Photoshop Elements to examine the access control listsAffected if Temp files grant excessive permissions to other users or groups (e.g., Everyone or Users group has Full Control or Write access)
If Adobe Photoshop Elements version 2025.0 is installed and creates temporary files with weak permissions that allow unauthorized access by other local users, the environment is affected by this 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 · scopedUsers should avoid opening untrusted or unexpected files in Photoshop Elements until Adobe releases an official patch. Organizations may consider application sandboxing or restricting file handling permissions as compensating controls.
Photoshop Elements 2025.1 or later (latest available version)
- Navigate to the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or visit adobe.com
- Check for available updates to Photoshop Elements
- Ensure you have a valid Adobe subscription if required
- Download and install the latest version of Photoshop Elements
- Verify the installation by checking the version number in the application
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,152.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-21162 — 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-2025-21162 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