Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-28591 is a high-severity Adobe Illustrator flaw. If a user opens a maliciously crafted file, an attacker could run code as that user. Business urgency depends on where Illustrator 25.2.3 or earlier is installed and whether staff receive untrusted design or PDF files.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for creative, marketing, and document-handling teams first. This is not described as remotely exploitable without user action, but successful exploitation could give an attacker code execution on a user workstation.
Technical view
Adobe Illustrator 25.2.3 and earlier have an out-of-bounds write vulnerability during specially crafted file parsing. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, and required user interaction. Successful exploitation can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability in the current user's context.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on endpoints running Adobe Illustrator 25.2.3 or earlier, especially users who open externally supplied files. The source bundle does not identify server-side exposure, cloud services, or non-Illustrator products.
Exploitation context
Exploitation requires user interaction: the victim must open a malicious file. The bundle does not state active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked as CISA KEV. Treat exploit status as unconfirmed from the provided sources.
Researcher notes
The key constraints are important: user interaction is required, execution is in the current user's context, and the provided sources do not confirm in-the-wild exploitation. Patch details are not included in the bundle, so remediation should be tied to Adobe APSB21-42.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Adobe Illustrator installations and identify versions 25.2.3 or earlier.
- Review Adobe APSB21-42 for the vendor-supported update or remediation path.
- Limit opening untrusted files in Illustrator until affected endpoints are remediated.
- Prioritize higher-risk users who receive external design, marketing, or PDF files.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed Illustrator versions on managed endpoints.
- Check whether vulnerable versions remain after remediation.
- Verify users handling external files are included in the remediation scope.
- Review endpoint detections for suspicious activity around Illustrator file opens.
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-787: 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-2021-28591 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
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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/illustrator/apsb21-42.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Out-of-bounds Write
Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.