Arbitrary file read via crafted file parsing
Published Aug 20, 2021 · Updated Apr 23, 2025
Use-after-free in Adobe Illustrator 25.2.3 and earlier allows attackers to read arbitrary files after a user opens a crafted file. Illustrator's file parser accesses freed memory while processing attacker-controlled file data; Adobe has not identified the parser or object lifecycle involved. Exploitation requires a Windows user to open the file, and the documented consequence is an arbitrary file-system read in that user's context.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Adobe Illustrator 25.2.3 and earlier allows attackers to read arbitrary files after a user opens a crafted file. Illustrator's file parser accesses freed memory while processing attacker-controlled file data; Adobe has not identified the parser or object lifecycle involved. Exploitation requires a Windows user to open the file, and the documented consequence is an arbitrary file-system read in that user's context.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-28593
- Published
- Aug 20, 2021
- Updated
- Apr 23, 2025
- Vendor
- Adobe
- Product
- Illustrator
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1204.002
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 20, 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 <=25.2.3
- 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.
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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