CVE-2023-26370
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2023-26370 is an access of uninitialized pointer vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop that could allow arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious file. This affects users running Photoshop versions 23.5.5 and earlier or 24.7 and earlier. Successful exploitation requires user interaction but could lead to full system compromise.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Photoshop
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining the same privileges as the current user, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Malicious actor tricks user into opening specially crafted Photoshop file, leading to malware execution, data exfiltration, or credential theft.
If Mitigated
User opens malicious file but system has application sandboxing, limited user privileges, and endpoint protection, preventing successful exploitation.
🎯 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 23.5.6 and 24.8
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb23-51.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application. 2. Navigate to 'Apps' section. 3. Find Photoshop and click 'Update'. 4. Wait for download and installation. 5. Restart Photoshop when prompted.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable automatic file opening
allPrevent Photoshop from automatically opening files or disable file associations
User awareness training
allTrain users to only open Photoshop files from trusted sources
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application whitelisting to block unauthorized Photoshop execution
- Run Photoshop with limited user privileges and enable sandboxing features
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Photoshop version via Help > About Photoshop. If version is 23.5.5 or earlier, or 24.7 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check Photoshop.exe properties. On macOS: Right-click Photoshop.app > Get Info.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify Photoshop version is 23.5.6 or higher (for version 23) or 24.8 or higher (for version 24).📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected Photoshop crashes
- Photoshop opening unusual file types
- Process creation from Photoshop with suspicious parameters
Network Indicators:
- Photoshop process making unexpected outbound connections
- DNS requests for suspicious domains after file opening
SIEM Query:
Process:Photoshop.exe AND (EventID:4688 OR ParentProcess:explorer.exe) AND CommandLine CONTAINS .psd OR .psb