CVE-2019-7974
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a type confusion vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop CC that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. Users running Photoshop CC versions 19.1.8 and earlier or 20.0.5 and earlier are vulnerable. Successful exploitation requires the victim to open a specially crafted malicious file.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Photoshop CC
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control over the victim's computer, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation leading to arbitrary code execution within the context of the Photoshop application, potentially allowing file system access and further exploitation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper application sandboxing and user privilege restrictions, potentially containing the exploit to the Photoshop process.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening a malicious file). No public exploit code was available at the time of disclosure.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Photoshop CC 19.1.9 and 20.0.6
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb19-44.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application. 2. Navigate to the 'Apps' tab. 3. Find Photoshop CC and click 'Update'. 4. Restart Photoshop after update completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Photoshop file handling
allConfigure system to open Photoshop files with a different application or restrict Photoshop from opening untrusted files.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict user privileges to prevent system-wide impact if exploited
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Photoshop version via Help > About Photoshop in the application menu.Check Version:
On Windows: Check Photoshop.exe properties. On macOS: Check Photoshop.app Info.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify Photoshop version is 19.1.9 or higher for version 19.x, or 20.0.6 or higher for version 20.x.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Photoshop crash logs with unusual memory access patterns
- Windows Event Logs showing Photoshop process spawning unexpected child processes
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from Photoshop process
SIEM Query:
Process creation where parent process contains 'photoshop' and child process is unusual (e.g., cmd.exe, powershell.exe)