Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-21280 is a high-severity Untrusted Search Path (CWE-426) vulnerability in Adobe Illustrator. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 13th 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.
Adobe Illustrator versions 29.8.3, 30.0, and earlier are affected by CVE-2026-21280, an untrusted search path vulnerability classified under CWE-426. This flaw allows an attacker to manipulate the application's search path for critical resources, such as programs, causing Illustrator to execute a malicious program instead. Successful exploitation leads to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.6 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), reflecting high impact due to low attack complexity, no required privileges, user interaction, and changed scope.
Exploitation requires local access and user interaction, where a victim must open a malicious file in the vulnerable Illustrator version. An attacker with no privileges can modify the search path to redirect to their malicious executable, which the application then runs upon file opening. This results in full arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user, potentially enabling data theft, persistence, or further system compromise.
Adobe's security bulletin APSB26-03 provides details on the vulnerability and mitigation, available at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb26-03.html. Security practitioners should advise users to apply patches promptly and avoid opening untrusted files in affected versions.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-2061
Vulnerability Data
Illustrator versions 29.8.3, 30.0 and earlier are affected by an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. If the application uses a search path to locate critical resources such…
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as programs, an attacker could modify that search path to point to a malicious program, which the targeted application would then execute. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file and scope is changed.
- 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.