Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A malicious SVG file opened in Adobe Photoshop could let an attacker run code as the logged-in user. The issue affects Photoshop 21.2.11 and earlier, and 22.5 and earlier. It requires user interaction, so exposure is mainly phishing, downloads, or shared files.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority desktop application risk for teams handling external creative files. The business urgency depends on how widely Photoshop is deployed and how often users receive untrusted SVG content.
Technical view
CVE-2021-40709 is a CWE-120 buffer overflow in Photoshop SVG parsing. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 high: local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, required user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Organizations are exposed where affected Photoshop versions are installed on endpoints and users can open SVG files from email, web downloads, cloud shares, or external collaborators.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. Exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted SVG file in Photoshop.
Researcher notes
The evidence supports arbitrary code execution in the current user context through SVG parsing. The source bundle does not provide exploit details, operating-system specificity, or concrete patch version data beyond the Adobe advisory reference.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Photoshop installations and identify affected versions.
- Review Adobe APSB21-84 and apply vendor-recommended updates.
- Limit opening unsolicited SVG files in Photoshop until remediated.
- Use email and endpoint controls to reduce malicious file delivery.
- Prioritize remediation for design, marketing, and content-production endpoints.
Validation and detection
- Compare installed Photoshop versions against 21.2.11 and earlier, and 22.5 and earlier.
- Confirm Adobe update deployment through software management or endpoint inventory.
- Review security telemetry for suspicious SVG files delivered to Photoshop users.
- Verify user-facing guidance covers unexpected SVG attachments and downloads.
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-120: 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-2021-40709 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/photoshop/apsb21-84.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.
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.