Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Adobe Captivate 2019 has a local privilege escalation flaw in versions 11.5.1.499 and earlier. It can matter where Captivate is installed on shared workstations or creative systems, because a local attacker who can influence file placement may gain higher privileges after user interaction.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority endpoint remediation item, especially on shared creative or training systems. It is not shown as actively exploited in the provided sources, but successful exploitation could give a local attacker broad system control.
Technical view
CVE-2021-21011 is a CWE-427 uncontrolled search path element issue in Adobe Captivate 2019. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.0, with local attack vector, high complexity, required user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on endpoints or build/training content systems running Adobe Captivate 2019 version 11.5.1.499 or earlier. Server exposure is not indicated by the supplied sources.
Exploitation context
The supplied sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The weakness requires local conditions and user interaction, so it is less urgent than a remote unauthenticated flaw but still important where untrusted users can write files.
Researcher notes
The source bundle names the affected product and version boundary but does not include proof-of-concept details or fixed-version specifics. Validate exposure by installed version and local file permission context. Avoid assuming exploitation in the wild without additional evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Adobe Captivate installations and identify versions 11.5.1.499 or earlier.
- Review Adobe APSB21-06 and apply the vendor-recommended update or guidance.
- Remove unsupported or unnecessary Captivate installations from shared systems.
- Restrict write access to application directories and related local search paths.
- Prioritize systems used by administrators, trainers, or content publishers.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed Captivate versions through endpoint inventory or software management records.
- Verify remediation status against Adobe APSB21-06, not inferred package names alone.
- Check whether non-administrative users can write near Captivate application paths.
- Document any remaining vulnerable systems with owner, business need, and remediation date.
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-427: 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 lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-21011 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
- 7 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/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:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H15.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/captivate/apsb21-06.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.
Uncontrolled Search Path Element
Uncontrolled Search Path Element represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.