CVE-2025-21122: Adobe Photoshop RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-21122 Overview

CVE-2025-21122 is an Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound) vulnerability affecting Adobe Photoshop Desktop that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. This vulnerability exists in Photoshop Desktop versions 25.12, 26.1 and earlier. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the current user, potentially leading to complete system compromise through maliciously crafted files.

Affected Products

• Adobe Photoshop Desktop version 25.12 and earlier
• Adobe Photoshop Desktop version 26.1 and earlier
• Affected on both Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS platforms

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-01-14 - CVE-2025-21122 published to NVD
• 2025-02-11 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-21122

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-191 (Integer Underflow - Wrap or Wraparound). Integer underflow occurs when an arithmetic operation attempts to create a numeric value that is below the minimum value that can be represented within the available storage space. In the context of Photoshop, this type of vulnerability can occur during image processing operations where calculations involving image dimensions, buffer sizes, or other numeric values wrap around unexpectedly.

When a victim opens a specially crafted malicious file, the integer underflow condition can be triggered, causing unexpected behavior in memory allocation or array indexing operations. This can lead to memory corruption, which an attacker can leverage to execute arbitrary code within the context of the user running Photoshop.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of numeric inputs during arithmetic operations in Photoshop's file parsing routines. When processing certain file structures, the application performs arithmetic operations that can result in an integer underflow condition. This causes the computed value to wrap around to a very large positive number (due to unsigned integer representation) or to an unexpected negative value (for signed integers), leading to improper memory operations.

Attack Vector

This vulnerability requires local access and user interaction to exploit. The attack vector involves:

1. An attacker crafts a malicious image file containing specially designed data structures that trigger the integer underflow condition
2. The attacker delivers this malicious file to the victim through various means (email attachment, file sharing, download from compromised website)
3. When the victim opens the malicious file with a vulnerable version of Adobe Photoshop, the integer underflow is triggered
4. The resulting memory corruption enables the attacker to execute arbitrary code with the victim's privileges

The malicious file exploits the integer underflow vulnerability during file parsing. When Photoshop processes the crafted data, arithmetic operations produce unexpected values that corrupt memory structures, enabling code execution. For technical details, refer to Adobe's Security Advisory APSB25-02.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-21122

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected crashes or abnormal termination of Adobe Photoshop when opening image files
• Suspicious child processes spawned by the Photoshop application
• Unusual network connections initiated by Photoshop or its child processes
• Memory access violations logged in system event logs related to Photoshop processes

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for unusual process behavior from Photoshop.exe or Photoshop application on macOS
• Implement file integrity monitoring on systems where Photoshop is installed
• Deploy endpoint detection rules to identify suspicious file operations preceding Photoshop execution
• Enable application crash analysis to identify potential exploitation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Implement logging of file access events for image file types commonly processed by Photoshop (PSD, TIFF, PNG, etc.)
• Monitor for unexpected process creation chains originating from Photoshop
• Configure alerts for memory access violations in Photoshop processes
• Review system logs for anomalous behavior following image file operations

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-21122

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Adobe Photoshop to the latest patched version immediately
• Avoid opening image files from untrusted or unknown sources
• Implement application whitelisting to restrict execution of unauthorized processes
• Enable exploit protection features in endpoint security solutions

Patch Information

Adobe has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Users should update to the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop Desktop that remediate CVE-2025-21122. Detailed patch information is available in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB25-02.

Organizations using Adobe Creative Cloud can utilize the automatic update feature to receive the latest security patches. Manual downloads are also available through the Adobe website for environments where automatic updates are not feasible.

Workarounds

• Restrict access to Adobe Photoshop to only trusted users who require the application
• Implement strict email attachment filtering to block potentially malicious image files
• Use sandboxing solutions when opening files from untrusted sources
• Consider using Adobe's Protected Mode or similar isolation features if available

# Verify Adobe Photoshop version on Windows
# Navigate to Help > About Photoshop to verify version
# Ensure version is newer than 25.12 (for 25.x branch) or 26.1 (for 26.x branch)

# Enable automatic updates in Creative Cloud
# Open Creative Cloud Desktop App > Settings > Apps > Auto-update