Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a low-severity Adobe Illustrator flaw in handling TIF files. A malicious file, if opened by a user, could expose small amounts of memory and potentially help bypass protections such as ASLR. It does not indicate direct system takeover by itself.
Executive priority
Treat this as routine patching with targeted urgency for teams handling external design files. It is not currently supported as an emergency exploitation issue by the supplied evidence, but it can assist broader attack chains by leaking memory.
Technical view
CVE-2021-43752 is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Adobe Illustrator TIF file parsing affecting versions 25.4.2 and earlier and 26.0.1 and earlier. The CVSS 3.1 score is 3.3, with local attack vector, required user interaction, and low confidentiality impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on endpoints where Adobe Illustrator is installed and users open externally supplied TIF or design files. Higher relevance applies to design, marketing, print, and agency workflows that regularly handle customer or partner artwork.
Exploitation context
The provided sources say exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious file. The CVE is not listed as CISA KEV in the source bundle, and no cited source here supports active exploitation.
Researcher notes
The bundle identifies the weakness, affected major version ranges, interaction requirement, and ASLR-bypass relevance, but does not provide detailed patch version data. Avoid assuming exploit availability or weaponized use without additional cited evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Identify Illustrator installations at or below 25.4.2 and 26.0.1.
- Review Adobe APSB22-02 for the vendor-approved update path.
- Update or remove affected Illustrator installations where possible.
- Limit opening untrusted TIF or artwork files on affected systems.
- Use attachment filtering and endpoint controls for unsolicited design files.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Adobe Illustrator versions across managed endpoints.
- Compare installed versions against Adobe APSB22-02 guidance.
- Confirm exposed creative teams have updated Illustrator builds.
- Review recent alerts involving suspicious TIF or design files.
- Verify users handling external artwork receive file-origin warnings.
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-125: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-43752 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/apsb22-02.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 Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.