Privilege escalation via uncontrolled search path
Published Apr 19, 2021 · Updated Apr 23, 2025
Uncontrolled search path handling in Adobe RoboHelp 2020.0.3 and earlier allows local users with administrator access to escalate privileges. Adobe has not disclosed the affected file, executable, library, or search-path operation that resolves an attacker-controlled filesystem entry. Exploitation requires administrator permission to write to the filesystem and user interaction, and successful exploitation raises privilege in the current user's context.
Summary
What happened
Uncontrolled search path handling in Adobe RoboHelp 2020.0.3 and earlier allows local users with administrator access to escalate privileges. Adobe has not disclosed the affected file, executable, library, or search-path operation that resolves an attacker-controlled filesystem entry. Exploitation requires administrator permission to write to the filesystem and user interaction, and successful exploitation raises privilege in the current user's context.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-21070
- Published
- Apr 19, 2021
- Updated
- Apr 23, 2025
- Vendor
- Adobe
- Product
- Adobe RoboHelp
- Classifications
- CWE-427
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 19, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 23, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=2020.0.3
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=None
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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