CVE-2020-3789
📋 TL;DR
A memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. This affects Photoshop CC 2019 versions 20.0.8 and earlier, and Photoshop 2020 versions 21.1 and earlier. Users who open malicious files with vulnerable Photoshop versions are at risk.
💻 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 networks.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation or remote code execution when users open specially crafted malicious files, 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 malicious file). No public exploit code available at time of advisory.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Photoshop CC 2019: 20.0.9 or later; Photoshop 2020: 21.2 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' button. 5. Wait for download and installation to complete. 6. Restart Photoshop when prompted.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Photoshop file handling
allConfigure system to open Photoshop files with alternative applications or restrict Photoshop from opening untrusted files
Application sandboxing
allRun Photoshop in sandboxed environment to limit potential damage from exploitation
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict file validation policies to prevent opening untrusted Photoshop files
- Use application control solutions to restrict Photoshop execution or monitor for suspicious behavior
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Photoshop version via Help > About Photoshop in application menuCheck Version:
Photoshop: Help > About Photoshop; Windows: wmic product where name='Adobe Photoshop' get version; macOS: /Applications/Adobe\ Photoshop\ 2020/Adobe\ Photoshop\ 2020.app/Contents/Info.plistVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is Photoshop CC 2019 20.0.9+ or Photoshop 2020 21.2+📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected Photoshop crashes
- Photoshop spawning unusual child processes
- Photoshop accessing suspicious files or network resources
Network Indicators:
- Photoshop making unexpected outbound connections
- Unusual network traffic from Photoshop process
SIEM Query:
process_name:"photoshop.exe" AND (event_type:crash OR parent_process:unusual OR network_connection:external)