Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-28623 is a local privilege escalation issue in Adobe Premiere Elements 5.2 and earlier. A person with local access could abuse insecure temporary file handling in the installer to perform actions with higher privileges. This is not described as remotely exploitable, but it can matter on shared or compromised workstations.
Executive priority
Treat this as a medium-priority endpoint hygiene issue. It is not presented as actively exploited or remote, but vulnerable installations can help an attacker increase privileges after local access. Remediate through standard software inventory and patch management.
Technical view
The vulnerability is mapped to CWE-379, insecure temporary file creation. The CVSS v3.0 vector is AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N, indicating local access, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, and high integrity impact. The source describes abusing installer functions for privileged actions.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on endpoints or images still running Adobe Premiere Elements 5.2 or earlier. Systems without this product, or running versions outside the cited affected range, are not shown as affected by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. The issue requires local access but no prior authentication or user interaction, making it more relevant after initial endpoint access or in shared-device environments.
Researcher notes
Key constraints are local attack vector, no required privileges, no user interaction, and high integrity impact. The provided data does not include exploit details, observed exploitation, or a specific fixed version, so validation should stay tied to Adobe’s advisory and installed product versions.
Mitigation direction
- Identify Adobe Premiere Elements installations and versions across managed endpoints.
- Check Adobe APSB21-47 for vendor-approved updates or mitigations.
- Prioritize remediation on shared workstations and systems used by privileged users.
- Remove unsupported or unnecessary Premiere Elements installations.
- Limit local interactive access where affected versions cannot be remediated promptly.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Adobe Premiere Elements 5.2 or earlier is installed.
- Review software inventory and endpoint management records for affected versions.
- Verify remediation status against Adobe APSB21-47 guidance.
- Check whether affected systems are shared or used by privileged accounts.
- Document exceptions where vendor guidance cannot be applied.
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-379: 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-2021-28623 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.2 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N2.53.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
6.2MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_elements/apsb21-47.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.
Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions
Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.