# CVE-2009-3489: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escalate privileges to SYSTEM by exploiting insecure permissions on the Adobe Active File Monitor service in Photoshop Elements.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 30 Sep 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8vrj-v84v-pmgx

## What is CVE-2009-3489?

CVE-2009-3489 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 30 Sep 2009. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0 installs the Adobe Active File Monitor V8 service with an insecure security descriptor, which allows local users to (1) stop the service via the stop command, (2) execute arbitrary commands as SYSTEM by using the config command to modify the binPath variable, or (3) restart the service via the start command.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-3489?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Adobe Photoshop Elements.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-3489?

No fix has been published for CVE-2009-3489 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2009-3489 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-3489 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0 - Active File Monitor Privilege Escalation (exploitdb)
- Adobe Photoshop Elements - Active File Monitor Service Privilege Escalation (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2011-2443](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-2443/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2021-39825](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39825/): Adobe Photoshop Elements Edit 2021 TTF Font Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2021-28597](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28597/): Adobe Photoshop Elements Privilege Escalation Vulnerability - symbolic link (medium 6.2)
- [CVE-2025-21162](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21162/): Photoshop Elements | Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Incorrect Permissions (CWE-379) (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-3489 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-3489 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 30 Sep 2009. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-3489 exists.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3489/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3489/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-3489
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-3489
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-3489

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3489/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.