Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a low-severity Adobe Illustrator flaw where opening a malicious file could expose limited sensitive information from the current user's session. It is not described as remote, automatic, or actively exploited in the provided sources. The main business concern is users handling untrusted design files on outdated Illustrator installations.
Executive priority
Treat this as routine patch management, not an emergency response. Prioritize creative and marketing workstations that process external files, but the low CVSS score and required user interaction keep urgency below actively exploited or code-execution issues.
Technical view
CVE-2021-28593 is a CWE-416 use-after-free in Adobe Illustrator PostScript parsing affecting version 25.2.3 and earlier. The CVSS 3.1 vector is local, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, with low confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on workstations running Adobe Illustrator 25.2.3 or earlier, especially users who receive or open external Illustrator, PostScript, or design files from untrusted sources.
Exploitation context
The provided sources say exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted malicious file. CISA KEV is false, and no cited source in the bundle reports active exploitation.
Researcher notes
The source bundle identifies information disclosure only, not code execution. Affected-version details are limited to Illustrator 25.2.3 and earlier, with no exploit telemetry beyond KEV=false. Use vendor advisory APSB21-42 for exact update guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB21-42 and update Illustrator to a non-affected version.
- Prioritize systems where users handle external or customer-supplied design files.
- Limit opening untrusted design files on outdated Illustrator installations.
- Use endpoint controls to reduce delivery and execution of suspicious attachments.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed Adobe Illustrator versions across managed endpoints.
- Flag Illustrator version 25.2.3 and earlier as affected.
- Confirm updated systems are no longer on affected versions.
- Check mail and collaboration workflows for untrusted design-file exposure.
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-416: 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 lookupCVE-2021-28593 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
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
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:L/I:N/A:N1.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
3.3LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
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.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.