Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2025-27167 is a high-severity Untrusted Search Path (CWE-426) vulnerability in Adobe Illustrator. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 14th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to CM-6 (Configuration Settings) and CM-7 (Least Functionality) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2025-27167 is an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability (CWE-426) affecting Adobe Illustrator versions 29.2.1, 28.7.4, and earlier. The flaw arises when the application relies on a search path to locate critical resources such as programs, allowing an attacker to manipulate that path to redirect to malicious programs or resources. This could enable execution of arbitrary code, unauthorized access to data files, or unintended modification of configurations, as the application trusts these resources without sufficient validation.
The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating local access is required with low attack complexity, no privileges needed, but user interaction is necessary. A local attacker could exploit it by modifying the search path—such as through environment variables or directory placement—to trick Illustrator into loading and executing malicious programs or accessing sensitive data, potentially leading to high-impact confidentiality, integrity, and availability compromises on the affected system.
Adobe's security bulletin APSB25-17, available at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb25-17.html, provides details on the vulnerability and recommended mitigations, including available patches for affected Illustrator versions. Security practitioners should prioritize updating to patched versions to address this issue.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-7742
Vulnerability Data
Illustrator versions 29.2.1, 28.7.4 and earlier are affected by an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability that might allow attackers to execute their own programs, access unauthorized data files, or modify configuration in unexpected ways. If the application uses a search path…
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to locate critical resources such as programs, then an attacker could modify that search path to point to a malicious program, which the targeted application would then execute. The problem extends to any type of critical resource that the application trusts.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Secure baseline settings can enforce absolute, organization-controlled paths for critical resources.
Least-functionality configuration can prohibit unapproved directories or executables from being reachable via search paths.
Engineering principles such as trusted paths, complete mediation, and least privilege directly require hard-coded or validated search paths instead of external ones.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Preventing execution of unauthorized code directly blocks the malicious binaries that an untrusted search path would load.
Secure development practices include avoiding or sanitizing externally influenced search paths in application code.
Hardened configuration baselines can enforce safe search paths and restrict environment variables that enable the weakness.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can discover search-path issues but does not itself prevent them in production code.
Restricting software installation reduces the chance that untrusted binaries or libraries are placed in search paths.
Secure architecture principles include hard-coded or validated search paths and avoiding reliance on untrusted directories.
Secure coding standards require absolute paths or integrity-checked search paths, directly mitigating CWE-426.
Change-management processes can enforce review of path-handling changes, indirectly lowering risk.