CVE-2020-3775
📋 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 over the victim's computer, 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 malicious Photoshop file, leading to malware installation or data exfiltration.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper application sandboxing, file validation, 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' tab. 3. Find Photoshop in your installed apps. 4. Click 'Update' if available. 5. Follow on-screen prompts to complete installation. 6. Restart Photoshop after update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Photoshop file execution
allBlock execution of Photoshop files from untrusted sources using application control policies.
User awareness training
allTrain users to only open Photoshop files from trusted sources and verify file integrity.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate Photoshop workstations from critical network segments
- 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:
Photoshop: Help > About Photoshop (GUI only)Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is Photoshop CC 2019 20.0.9+ or Photoshop 2020 21.1.1+ in Help > About Photoshop.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes in Photoshop with suspicious file names
- Unexpected child processes spawned from Photoshop.exe
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from Photoshop to unexpected destinations
- DNS queries for known malicious domains from Photoshop process
SIEM Query:
process_name:"Photoshop.exe" AND (event_id:1000 OR parent_process_name:"Photoshop.exe")