CVE-2021-28597
Adobe Photoshop Elements Privilege Escalation Vulnerability - symbolic link
Adobe Photoshop Elements version 5.2 (and earlier) is affected by an insecure temporary file creation vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to call functions against the installer to perform high privileged actions. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Adobe Photoshop Elements Privilege Escalation Vulnerability - symbolic link
Adobe Photoshop Elements version 5.2 (and earlier) is affected by an insecure temporary file creation vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to call functions against the installer to perform high privileged actions. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
- Record
CVE-2021-28597- CVSS 3.0
- 6.2 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-379
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-15266
Adobe Photoshop Elements version 5.2 (and earlier) is affected by an insecure temporary file creation vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to call functions against the installer to perform high privileged actions. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
- Record
EUVD-2021-15266- CVSS 3.0
- 6.2 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-p6gc-38cf-8626
Adobe Photoshop Elements version 5.2 (and earlier) is affected by an insecure temporary file...
Adobe Photoshop Elements version 5.2 (and earlier) is affected by an insecure temporary file creation vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to call functions against the installer to perform high privileged actions. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
- Record
GHSA-p6gc-38cf-8626- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-379, CWE-668
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
Adobe Photoshop Elements version 5.2 (and earlier) is affected by an insecure temporary file creation vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to call functions against the installer to perform high privileged actions. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.
- Record
CVE-2021-28597- CVSS 3.1
- 5.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.0
- 6.2 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 2.1 Low
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-379, CWE-668
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-28597 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.2) in Adobe Photoshop Elements, published June 28, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.48%, the 41st percentile. No source names a fixed version.