CVE-2020-3779
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows attackers to write data beyond allocated memory boundaries in Adobe Photoshop, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. Users of Photoshop CC 2019 versions 20.0.8 and earlier, and Photoshop 2020 versions 21.1 and earlier are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Photoshop CC 2019
- Adobe Photoshop 2020
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise with attacker gaining the same privileges as the Photoshop user, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation or remote code execution when opening malicious image files, leading to malware installation or data exfiltration.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if Photoshop runs with minimal privileges, but still potential for user data compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file). No public exploit code available at disclosure.
🛠️ 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 and click 'Update'. 4. Restart Photoshop after update completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Photoshop file handling
allConfigure Photoshop to only open trusted file types or from trusted locations
Run Photoshop with reduced privileges
windowsConfigure Photoshop to run with limited user permissions to reduce impact
🧯 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. If version is Photoshop CC 2019 20.0.8 or earlier, or Photoshop 2020 21.1 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Photoshop\[Version]\Version. On macOS: Check /Applications/Adobe Photoshop [Year]/Adobe Photoshop [Year].app/Contents/Info.plistVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Photoshop version is updated to Photoshop CC 2019 20.0.9+ or Photoshop 2020 21.1.1+ via Help > About Photoshop.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Photoshop crash logs with memory access violations
- Unexpected child processes spawned from Photoshop
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from Photoshop process
- DNS queries to suspicious domains from Photoshop
SIEM Query:
process_name:"photoshop.exe" AND (event_type:"process_creation" OR event_type:"crash")