CVE-2025-49570
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop that could allow arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious file. Affected users include anyone running vulnerable versions of Photoshop Desktop on Windows or macOS. Successful exploitation requires user interaction but could lead to full system compromise.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Photoshop Desktop
📦 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 lateral movement.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation leading to malware installation, data exfiltration, or persistence mechanisms being established on the affected system.
If Mitigated
Limited impact due to user awareness training preventing malicious file opening, or application sandboxing limiting code execution scope.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file). No public exploit code available at this time.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 25.12.4 and 26.9
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/photoshop/apsb25-75.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
Restrict file opening
allConfigure Photoshop to only open files from trusted sources or disable opening of suspicious file types.
Run with reduced privileges
allRun Photoshop with limited user privileges to reduce impact of successful exploitation.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized code
- Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) to monitor for suspicious Photoshop behavior
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Photoshop version via Help > About Photoshop. If version is 25.12.3, 26.8 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Photoshop: Help > About PhotoshopVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Photoshop version is 25.12.4 or 26.9 or later 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
SIEM Query:
process_name:photoshop.exe AND (event_id:1 OR parent_process_name:photoshop.exe)