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HubertusausBerlin
HubertusausBerlin
Inspiring
May 21, 2026
Question

Photoshop 27.7 – possible complex PSD corruption / unexpected mask cutouts in layers and groups

  • May 21, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 83 views

Hi everyone,

 

I would like to report a very critical issue I encountered in Photoshop 27.7. I cannot currently reproduce it further because I do not want to reopen or continue testing the affected file for safety reasons. The behavior looked like possible layer/mask structure corruption or a severe masking/document-state bug.

🤔

 

What happened

 

I had a complex PSD file open. The document contained many layers, groups, and Smart Objects, including placed Illustrator/vector Smart Objects.

 

The Remove Tool was not used.
The Modern UI was enabled.

 

After a key press, which I unfortunately cannot identify anymore, parts of the document suddenly displayed incorrectly:

  • text blocks were only partially visible
  • underlying layers suddenly showed through
  • several layers and groups appeared to have rectangular cutouts
  • these cutouts looked as if they had been created in layer masks or group masks

 

Creating these rectangular masked areas manually would normally require several deliberate commands. However, there was no corresponding step visible in the History panel.

 

Important observation

 

The issue was not only visible on the canvas, but also in the Layers panel: the newly created rectangular masked areas were actually visible in the layer mask thumbnails.

 

For some affected layers or groups, I was able to disable the mask, which made the hidden content visible again. However, this did not work reliably for all affected masks.

 

The most concerning part was that the masks could not be repaired normally. For example, I could not simply fill the affected mask areas with white again or reliably neutralize the masks. Photoshop either did not apply those corrections properly, or the visible effect remained.

 

Turning the affected layers off and on did not fix the behavior either.

 

Because of this, the issue did not feel like a simple display/rendering glitch. It looked more like a serious problem with layer masks, group masks, or Photoshop’s internal document state.

 

Especially problematic

  • Undo steps in History did not remove the mask/cutout issue.
  • Individual layer masks could not be reliably deleted, neutralized, or overwritten.
  • Filling the masks with white did not work as expected.
  • Some masks could be disabled, but others did not respond reliably.
  • The document state no longer felt controllable.
  • I could not identify which command triggered this state.

 

Current status

 

I immediately set the affected document aside and rolled back to Photoshop 27.6. I cannot test Photoshop 27.7 further at the moment because the version was not preserved during the downgrade.

 

I do not want to reopen or continue working on the affected file right now, to avoid further damage or accidentally overwriting anything.

 

Setup / context

  • Photoshop 27.7
  • Windows 11 25H2
  • complex PSD document with many layers, groups, and Smart Objects
  • some Smart Objects are placed Illustrator/vector files
  • Modern UI enabled
  • Remove Tool was not used in this case

 

Request

 

Please treat this as a possible critical bug related to document integrity / layer masks / group masks / complex PSD files.

 

If Adobe recommends specific logs, system information, or a safe diagnostic procedure, I can try to provide more information. However, I do not want to share the affected file publicly and would only handle it very carefully.

 

Thx a lot!  🦤

    1 reply

    HubertusausBerlin
    HubertusausBerlinAuthor
    Inspiring
    May 21, 2026

    Update / additional observation:

     

    I carefully reopened the affected file in Photoshop 27.6 to inspect it further.

     

    There is another important observation:

     

    The newly created or manipulated masked areas are actually visible in the mask thumbnails in the Layers panel. For some layers and groups, I was able to disable or fill those masks with white, which made some of the hidden content visible again.

     

    However, the issue is not limited to regular layer or group masks.

     

    The main background image is a Smart Object. In the main PSD, this Smart Object layer also shows a large rectangular cutout / transparent area. But when I open the Smart Object itself, the image inside is complete and not damaged.

     

    So the Smart Object content itself is intact, but the Smart Object instance in the main document is displayed incorrectly, with a large cutout. I do not see a normal layer mask on that Smart Object layer that would explain this behavior.

     

    To me, this makes the issue even more critical. It does not look only like accidentally created layer masks. It looks more like a severe problem with the document state, layer/group masks, or the compositing/display of Smart Objects in the main document.

     

    In my opinion, a single accidental key press should not be able to alter several layer and group masks, create mask states that cannot be reliably edited or undone, and additionally make a Smart Object instance display differently from its intact internal content — especially when no corresponding steps are visible in the History panel.

     

    I am attaching screenshots showing:

    • the incorrect cutouts in the document
    • the Smart Object instance in the main PSD with a cutout
    • the visible mask changes in the Layers panel

     

    Sameer K
    Community Manager
    Sameer KCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    June 4, 2026

    Hey, ​@HubertusausBerlin. Thank you for providing another detailed post. It's important for us to understand the specific steps or conditions that trigger the issue. Please consider adding a sample document along with a set of steps to help us recreate this behavior. Once you do that, I can move this back to the bugs section. In the meantime, I have moved it back to questions.

     

    Thanks!
    Sameer K

      HubertusausBerlin
      HubertusausBerlinAuthor
      Inspiring
      June 4, 2026

      Hello ​@Sameer K !

       

      Thx for your replay! 🤓


      I created a sanitized duplicate of the original complex PSD, replacing private/client-related content while keeping the layer/group/mask/Smart Object structure as close as possible.


      I tested this sanitized file in Photoshop 27.6 and also in Photoshop Beta 27.9. So far, I have not been able to reproduce the issue in the Beta. I moved layers, edited text, updated Smart Objects, and checked masks/groups, and everything looked normal.


      However, I currently cannot retest the file in Photoshop 27.7, because after rolling back to 27.6 the 27.7 version was not preserved. Also, I do not want to continue testing the original affected file directly, because the issue looked like possible document/mask corruption and I do not want to risk further damage.


      So at the moment I can provide the sanitized test document, but I cannot provide reliable reproduction steps yet. The original issue occurred in Photoshop 27.7 with Modern UI enabled, in a complex PSD with many layers, groups, masks, and Illustrator/vector Smart Objects. The Remove Tool was not used.


      If you still think the sanitized file may help the team investigate, I can share it.

       

      🐧🐧

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