CVE-2026-21288VulnerabilityPublished 13 Jan 2026Updated 27 Aug 2026

CVE-2026-21288: Adobe Illustrator Desktop 2026 · NULL Pointer Dereference

Affects Adobe Illustrator Desktop 2026Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 11% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
AdobeIllustrator Desktop 2026	Affected <=30.0	Fixed in–
AdobeIllustrator Desktop 2025	Affected <=29.8.3	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Monitor Adobe’s official channels for patches addressing CVE-2026-21288 and apply updates promptly once available. 2. Implement strict file handling policies to restrict opening Illustrator files from untrusted or unknown sources, including email attachments and downloads. 3. Educate users on the risks of opening files from unverified origins and encourage verification before opening Illustrator files. 4. Employ application sandboxing or containerization to isolate Illustrator processes, limiting the impact of crashes on the broader system. 5. Use endpoint protection solutions capable of detecting anomalous application behavior or crashes related to malformed files. 6. Consider deploying application whitelisting to control which files and processes can execute within Illustrator. 7. Maintain regular backups of critical work to minimize data loss or workflow disruption in case of application failure. 8. Review and enhance incident response plans to quickly address denial-of-service incidents affecting creative applications.

Description

Illustrator versions 29.8.3, 30.0 and earlier are affected by a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability that could lead to application denial-of-service. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to crash the application, causing disruption to services. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

Impact

For European organizations, particularly those in creative industries such as advertising, graphic design, and media production, this vulnerability poses a risk of operational disruption due to application crashes. While it does not compromise sensitive data or system integrity, the denial-of-service effect can interrupt critical workflows, causing delays and potential financial losses. Organizations relying on Adobe Illustrator for daily operations may experience reduced productivity if users inadvertently open malicious files. Additionally, in environments where Illustrator is integrated into automated pipelines or shared workstations, repeated crashes could impact multiple users. The requirement for user interaction limits the scope of exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in scenarios where attackers can distribute malicious files via email or shared networks. Given the widespread use of Adobe products in Europe, the vulnerability could affect a broad range of organizations, from small design studios to large media companies. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate threat but does not preclude future exploitation attempts.

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumCWE Top 25 (2025): #13OWASP Top 10 A10:2025: Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions (opens in a new tab)
The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
Implementation
For any pointers that could have been modified or provided from a function that can return NULL, check the pointer for NULL before use. When working with a multithreaded or otherwise asynchronous environment, ensure that proper locking APIs are used to lock before the check, and unlock when it has finished.
Requirements
Select a programming language that is not susceptible to these issues.
Implementation
Check the results of all functions that return a value and verify that the value is non-null before acting upon it.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Logging (opens in a new tab)
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V11.1.7 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb26-03.html (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 21 Jan 2026, 03:03 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-476

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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