CVE-2021-43019 Adobe Creative Cloud Incorrect Permission Assignment Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

High 7.8 Published 23 Nov 2021 Updated 23 Apr 2025

An attacker with low-privileged code execution can escalate privileges to SYSTEM by exploiting incorrect permissions in the Adobe Creative Cloud installer.

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: None listed

What is CVE-2021-43019?

CVE-2021-43019 is a high-severity vulnerability in Adobe Creative Cloud (desktop component), published on 23 Nov 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 Creative Cloud version 5.5 (and earlier) are affected by a privilege escalation vulnerability in the resources leveraged by the Setup.exe service. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to remove files and escalate privileges under the context of SYSTEM . An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability on the product installer. User interaction is required before product installation to abuse this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-732

Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-43019?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application.

How do I fix CVE-2021-43019?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-43019 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Is CVE-2021-43019 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-43019 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as GHSA-wxwj-m72v-qhcr.