14 DAY TRIAL // Photoshop is probably the most powerful image manipulation tool in the entire virtual world and this is proved by an impressive number of digital arts created with the application. However, a huge popularity doesn't necessarily mean it is also safe because a security advisory released today shows us that Photoshop might harm the computer. Security company Secunia sustained Adobe Photos CS2, CS3 and some other versions of the application contain a highly critical vulnerability that can allow an attacker to control an affected system. The entire exploitation is conducted through some malicious codes executed just after the attacker manages to connect to the vulnerable computer.
"Marsu has reported a vulnerability in Adobe Photoshop, which can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a user's system. The vulnerability is caused due to an error within the handling of Bitmap files (e.g. .BMP, .DIB, .RLE) and can be exploited to cause a stack-based buffer overflow via a specially crafted Bitmap file. Successful exploitation allows execution of arbitrary code," Secunia mentioned in the advisory.
It seems like the only solution to avoid a successful exploitation of the vulnerability is to avoid opening untrusted BMP files, the images that can allow the attacker to connect to the system. Although the affected formats include DIB and RLE, the solution is quite harsh as many users are periodically downloading photos from the Internet.
The latest version of Adobe Photoshop, Creative Suite 3, was recently released and represented one of the most awaited solutions, especially by the Mac users. All the Apple clients were expecting the product as Photoshop is famous for its abilities to work with the company's systems and design high-quality images. Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Mac is currently valued by Amazon at $642.99.