CVE-2019-7975
📋 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 malicious file.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Photoshop CC
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise with attacker gaining complete control over the victim's computer, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement within the network.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution within the context of the Photoshop process, allowing file system access, data exfiltration, or installation of additional malware.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper application sandboxing, restricted user permissions, and network segmentation preventing lateral movement.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening a malicious file). No public exploit code was available at disclosure time, but type confusion vulnerabilities are often exploitable.
🛠️ 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 'Apps' section. 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 alternative applications or restrict execution of Photoshop files from untrusted sources.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict user permissions to limit potential damage from code execution
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized binaries
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Photoshop version via Help > About Photoshop in the application menu.Check Version:
On Windows: Check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Photoshop\[Version]\PluginVersion. On macOS: Check /Applications/Adobe Photoshop CC [Year]/Adobe Photoshop CC [Year].app/Contents/Info.plistVerify 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:
- Unexpected Photoshop crashes
- Suspicious child processes spawned from Photoshop
- Unusual file access patterns from Photoshop process
SIEM Query:
process_name:"photoshop.exe" AND (event_type:"process_creation" OR event_type:"crash")