CVE-2020-3774
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. Users running Photoshop CC 2019 versions 20.0.8 and earlier, or Photoshop 2020 versions 21.1 and earlier are vulnerable. Successful exploitation requires the victim to open a malicious file.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Photoshop CC 2019
- Adobe Photoshop 2020
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control of the affected machine, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement within the network.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation or remote code execution when a user opens a specially crafted Photoshop file, leading to malware installation or data exfiltration.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper application whitelisting, file type restrictions, and user awareness preventing malicious file execution.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening a malicious file). No public exploit code was available at disclosure time.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Photoshop CC 2019: 20.0.9 or later; Photoshop 2020: 21.1.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb20-14.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application. 2. Navigate to 'Apps' section. 3. Find Photoshop and click 'Update'. 4. Restart Photoshop after update completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Photoshop file handling
allConfigure systems to only allow trusted Photoshop files or use application control to restrict Photoshop execution.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized Photoshop execution
- Educate users to only open Photoshop files from trusted sources and enable file extension warnings
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Photoshop version via Help > About Photoshop in the application menuCheck Version:
Not applicable - check via application GUIVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is Photoshop CC 2019 20.0.9+ or Photoshop 2020 21.1.1+📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Photoshop crash logs with memory access violations
- Unexpected Photoshop process spawning child processes
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from Photoshop process to unexpected destinations
SIEM Query:
Process creation where parent_process_name contains 'photoshop' and (process_name contains 'cmd' or process_name contains 'powershell')