Adobe has pulled an update for its Creative Cloud desktop application for Mac computers after users complained that it was deleting important files from their machines without reason or warning.
During the installation of the update, which could happen automatically if set to do so, the Adobe program deleted the first folder on a user’s machine, as listed alphabetically.
Adobe said in a statement: “In a small number of cases, the updater may incorrectly remove some files from the system root directory with user writeable permissions.
“We have removed the update from distribution, and are in the process of deploying a new update which addresses the issue. When prompted for the update, Creative Cloud members should install it as normal.”
The issue was brought to light by users of backup software Backblaze. Part of the Backblaze backup system was stored within a folder on a Mac’s root directory named “.bzvol” and therefore was highly likely to be the first folder on the system which the Adobe update would delete.
Backblaze’s suggested solution was to create a folder called “.adobedontdeletemybzvol” on the user’s system that was higher in alphabetical order than the crucial .bzvol directory. The company later rolled out an update for its software that automatically created a dummy directory “.aBackblaze” for the Adobe updater to delete without issue.
Other users found the Adobe update would delete a folder required for the proper functioning of OS X’s autosave and versioning functions for documents, while any folder that started with a space on the root directory would likely fall victim to the update’s deletions.
Head of social for Backblaze Yev Pusin said: “It’s difficult to tell exactly which data may have been removed, but you can open the root directory on your Mac and try to look towards the top for any folders that are empty. This would have occurred to only one folder (that we know of) so the topmost hidden folder or the first folder with a space as the first character would have been affected.”
Adobe said a fixed version of the update should be immediately available.
- 2015 was the year that Adobe’s Flash finally began to die
- Google to ban Adobe Flash-based advertising
- Flash hit by another zero-day vulnerability