# CVE-2021-21011: Uncontrolled Search Path Element in Adobe Captivate 2019

> An attacker with file system write access can exploit an uncontrolled search path to escalate privileges in Adobe Captivate.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Jan 2021
- **Updated:** 23 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8h8c-92jm-7x7x

## What is CVE-2021-21011?

CVE-2021-21011 is a high-severity vulnerability in Adobe Captivate, published on 13 Jan 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Adobe Captivate 2019 version 11.5.1.499 (and earlier) is affected by an uncontrolled search path element vulnerability that could lead to privilege escalation. An attacker with permissions to write to the file system could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-21011?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Adobe Captivate.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-21011?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-21011 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-21011 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21011 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Adobe Captivate

- [CVE-2017-3098](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3098/): Path traversal in Adobe Captivate 9 and earlier. (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2010-3191](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3191/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2017-3087](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3087/): Information disclosure in Adobe Captivate 9 and earlier. (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2005-4708](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-4708/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2021-36002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36002/): Privilege escalation in Captivate (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-21011 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-21011 is a high-severity vulnerability in Adobe Captivate, published on 13 Jan 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21011 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Adobe Captivate. 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-2021-21011/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21011/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-21011
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21011
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-21011

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21011/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.