Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A malicious GIF opened in Adobe Dimension 3.4.3 or earlier could let an attacker run code as the signed-in user. This is mainly a workstation risk for creative or design teams, and it requires user interaction rather than remote compromise without opening a file.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for creative workstations and any environment handling external media assets. The issue is high impact but depends on user interaction, so urgency should track where Adobe Dimension is installed and exposed to untrusted files.
Technical view
CVE-2021-44181 is a CWE-787 out-of-bounds write in Adobe Dimension GIF parsing. The CVSS 3.0 score is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, unchanged scope, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Systems with Adobe Dimension 3.4.3 or earlier are the likely exposure. Risk is highest where users receive, download, or exchange GIF assets through email, web downloads, shared drives, or creative workflows.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious GIF file, after which code could execute in the context of the current user.
Researcher notes
The bundle identifies GIF parsing as the vulnerable surface and CWE-787 as the weakness class. No exploit details, proof-of-concept status, fixed version number, or active exploitation evidence are provided beyond the Adobe and ZDI references.
Mitigation direction
- Identify and update Adobe Dimension installations using Adobe APSB21-116 guidance.
- Remove Adobe Dimension where it is no longer required.
- Block or quarantine untrusted GIF files from unknown sources where practical.
- Use least-privilege workstation accounts for creative users.
- Monitor endpoint alerts involving Adobe Dimension opening untrusted files.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints for Adobe Dimension 3.4.3 or earlier.
- Confirm remediation status against Adobe APSB21-116.
- Review software asset records for unmanaged Dimension installs.
- Check mail, web, and file-sharing controls for untrusted GIF handling.
- Review endpoint telemetry for suspicious Adobe Dimension crashes or child processes.
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-2021-44181 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 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/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:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.0/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/dimension/apsb21-116.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-1570/CVE 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.