CVE-2021-43019

Privilege escalation via permissive installer folder

Published Nov 23, 2021 · Updated Apr 23, 2025

Incorrect folder permissions in Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop 5.5 and earlier allow local users to gain elevated privileges during installation. The product installer assigns overly permissive access to an unspecified folder, permitting file removal and privileged code execution. Exploitation requires prior low-privileged code execution and user interaction before installation; successful abuse runs code in an elevated system context.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability2.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect folder permissions in Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop 5.5 and earlier allow local users to gain elevated privileges during installation. The product installer assigns overly permissive access to an unspecified folder, permitting file removal and privileged code execution. Exploitation requires prior low-privileged code execution and user interaction before installation; successful abuse runs code in an elevated system context.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-43019
Published
Nov 23, 2021
Updated
Apr 23, 2025
Vendor
Adobe
Product
Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop
Classifications
CWE-732, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 23, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <=5.5
  2. Affected versionversion=unspecified <=None

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Adobe · Adobe Creative Cloud Desktopversion=unspecified <=5.5; version=unspecified <=None

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8Adobe Systems IncorporatedCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.3NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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