Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability affects Adobe Photoshop 22.1 and earlier. A malicious file involving a crafted font could trigger memory corruption and potentially let attacker-controlled code run after a user opens it. The main business risk is compromise of workstations used by creative, marketing, or design teams handling external files.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority endpoint patching issue for creative and marketing environments. It requires user action, but the impact can be full workstation compromise if an exposed user opens a malicious file.
Technical view
CVE-2021-21006 is a CWE-122 heap buffer overflow in Photoshop font-file handling. The CVSS 3.1 score is 8.6 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, required user interaction, changed scope, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on endpoints running Adobe Photoshop 22.1 or earlier, especially where users open client, vendor, or internet-sourced creative assets. Server exposure is not indicated by the sources.
Exploitation context
The sources state exploitation requires user interaction: the victim must open a malicious file. The provided bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation.
Researcher notes
The evidence supports arbitrary code execution from a heap buffer overflow in Photoshop font handling. Patch details beyond the Adobe advisory are not included in the provided bundle, and active exploitation is not supported here.
Mitigation direction
- Check Adobe APSB21-01 and apply the vendor security update for Photoshop.
- Identify and upgrade or isolate Photoshop 22.1 and earlier installations.
- Warn users not to open unexpected font or design files from untrusted sources.
- Use endpoint protection and application control on high-risk creative workstations.
- Review vendor guidance before relying on compensating controls.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed Adobe Photoshop versions across managed endpoints.
- Confirm no systems remain on Photoshop 22.1 or earlier.
- Verify patch status against Adobe APSB21-01 guidance.
- Check security tooling for detections involving suspicious creative or font files.
- Prioritize validation on teams receiving external design assets.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-122: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-21006 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H1.86Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.6HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb21-01.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Heap-based Buffer Overflow
Heap-based Buffer Overflow represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.