CVE-2025-21162
📋 TL;DR
Photoshop Elements 2025.0 and earlier versions contain a vulnerability where temporary files are created with insecure permissions, allowing local privilege escalation. Attackers could exploit this by tricking users into opening malicious files, potentially gaining elevated privileges on the affected system. This affects all users running vulnerable versions of Photoshop Elements.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Photoshop Elements
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full compromise of the current user account, allowing attackers to install malware, steal sensitive data, or pivot to other systems.
Likely Case
Limited privilege escalation within the user's context, potentially allowing access to restricted files or system resources.
If Mitigated
No impact if users avoid opening untrusted files and proper file permissions are enforced.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file) and knowledge of local file system.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2025.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop_elements/apsb25-13.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Photoshop Elements. 2. Go to Help > Updates. 3. Install available updates. 4. Restart the application.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict file permissions
windowsSet stricter permissions on temporary directories used by Photoshop Elements
icacls "%TEMP%\Adobe" /inheritance:r /grant:r "%USERNAME%:(OI)(CI)F" /T
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict user permissions to limit potential damage from privilege escalation
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized files
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Photoshop Elements version in Help > About Photoshop ElementsCheck Version:
On Windows: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\2025" /v VersionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 2025.1 or later after applying updates📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual file creation in temporary directories
- Photoshop Elements process spawning unexpected child processes
Network Indicators:
- No network indicators - local vulnerability only
SIEM Query:
EventID=4688 AND ParentImage="*PhotoshopElements.exe" AND CommandLine="*temp*"