Adobe’s October 13, 2026 security bulletin gives Photoshop users a practical maintenance task: check the installed application version and update affected installations. The fixes cover both the Photoshop 2026 and Photoshop 2025 branches on Windows and macOS.
For creative teams, the useful response is a short, documented update process that protects ongoing work while confirming that every workstation has received the appropriate fix.
Which versions are affected?
Adobe bulletin APSB26-158 identifies Photoshop 2026 version 27.10 and earlier, alongside Photoshop 2025 version 26.11.7 and earlier, as affected. The corresponding updated versions listed in the bulletin are 27.11 and 26.11.8.
The vulnerabilities include issues that could permit arbitrary code execution or cause application denial of service. Adobe stated in the bulletin that it was not aware of exploitation in the wild. That statement describes Adobe’s knowledge when the bulletin was published; it does not establish that an affected installation is safe to leave unchanged.
Understand the bulletin’s terminology
The bulletin assigns the update a priority rating of 3 while describing individual vulnerabilities as high or medium severity. Those labels serve different purposes and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Adobe’s current severity system uses CVSS scores, with high severity covering scores from 7.0 through 8.9 and medium severity covering 4.0 through 6.9. Adobe also distinguishes this system from the terminology used in bulletins published before October 2026. When discussing the update internally, copy the vendor’s terminology accurately rather than translating “priority 3” into an assumed severity level.
Build a small deployment checklist
Start by recording the Photoshop version on each production machine. Include secondary laptops, shared studio computers, and systems kept for specialist plug-ins. A workstation that is rarely used can easily fall outside routine maintenance.
Before updating, save open projects and confirm that important working files have recoverable copies. For teams with complex workflows, select representative documents for a brief check afterward: a layered composition, a file using required fonts, an action-driven export, and a project that depends on a critical plug-in.
These checks are a suggested operational workflow, not evidence of a known compatibility problem in this release.
For organizations managing many devices, assign responsibility for deployment and confirmation. “The update was announced” and “the update is installed everywhere” are separate milestones.
Review automatic update settings
Adobe’s Creative Cloud instructions allow users to enable automatic updates across applications or configure them individually. Advanced options also control whether previous preferences are imported and older versions are removed. Organizational policies can restrict these settings.
Adobe says automatic updates occur when a new update is available and the application is not in use. A continuously open production application therefore deserves an explicit version check.
After installation, reopen Photoshop, confirm the version, and complete the representative workflow checks. Record any exceptions with an owner and a resolution date. This turns a security announcement into a completed maintenance action and gives the studio a repeatable process for future releases.