DreamweaverApplication · Adobe

CVE-2026-21272

HIGH · 8.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 21.7 or later.
See remediation →
89/100
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
Dreamweaver Desktop versions 21.6 and earlier are affected by an Improper Input Validation vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary file system write. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to manipulate or inject malicious data into files on the system. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file and scope is changed.

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

Dreamweaver Desktop versions 21.6 and earlier contain an improper input validation vulnerability that allows arbitrary file system write. Exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious file, and the CVSS indicates scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability can impact resources beyond the vulnerable component.

MitigationUpdate Dreamweaver Desktop to a version newer than 21.6. Avoid opening files from untrusted sources until the patch is applied.

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
DreamweaverApplication
Affected:< 21.7

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/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. Verify Dreamweaver version
    Open Dreamweaver and go to Help > About Adobe Dreamweaver, or check the version in the Creative Cloud desktop app under the Dreamweaver entry. Alternatively, check the installation folder for version metadata.
    Affected if The installed version is 21.6 or earlier (any version < 21.7).
  2. Confirm file handling features are in use
    Check if the Dreamweaver Files panel or Site root folders are configured. Open Dreamweaver and look at the Files panel (usually bottom-left) to see if any local or remote sites are defined.
    Affected if Dreamweaver has site definitions or local folders configured, as the vulnerability involves manipulating files opened or managed within Dreamweaver.
  3. Review recent file activity
    Check the Dreamweaver site cache or recent files list. In the application, look at File > Open Recent to see recently accessed files, or check the site cache files in the Dreamweaver site folder (typically in _notes or _sgbak subfolders).
    Affected if Any .html, .php, or other web files were recently opened, as the attack requires a victim to open a malicious file.
  4. Inspect file modification timestamps
    Check the modification timestamps of web content files in your Dreamweaver local root folders. Use the operating system file explorer or command (ls -la or dir) to compare file dates against expected activity.
    Affected if Unexpected or unexplained file modifications exist in your Dreamweaver-managed folders, which could indicate exploitation.

A user is affected if Dreamweaver version is 21.6 or earlier and the user opens untrusted files within the application.

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 21.7 or later
Fixed in 21.7
Interim mitigation

Update Dreamweaver Desktop to a version newer than 21.6. Avoid opening files from untrusted sources until the patch is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Dreamweaver 21.7

  1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application on your system
  2. Navigate to the Apps section and find Adobe Dreamweaver in your installed apps
  3. Click on Update next to Dreamweaver to install version 21.7
  4. Alternatively, visit helpx.adobe.com and download Dreamweaver version 21.7 from the Adobe website
  5. Restart Dreamweaver after the update completes
  6. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About Dreamweaver to confirm version 21.7
Caveat Minor version upgrade typically has minimal breaking changes; ensure any site profiles and settings are backed up before updating

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

Fix this in Dreamweaver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2026-21272 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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