CVE-2021-40736
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAdobe Audition version 14.4 (and earlier) is affected by a memory corruption vulnerability, potentially resulting in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Audition versions 14.4 and earlier allows arbitrary code execution when processing specially crafted audio files. User interaction (opening a malicious file) is required for exploitation, indicating the attack vector is file-based.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 14.4CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate Adobe Audition installationOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or on macOS open Finder > Applications and look for Adobe Audition. Note the installed version displayed.Affected if Adobe Audition is installed on the system
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Determine installed Adobe Audition versionOpen Adobe Audition, then go to Help > About Adobe Audition (Windows) or Adobe Audition > About Adobe Audition (macOS). The version number will be displayed in the dialog window.Affected if Version shown is 14.4 or earlier (e.g., 14.0, 14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.4)
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Verify version against CVE affected rangeCompare the installed version number to the affected range: any version less than or equal to 14.4 is vulnerable. Adobe Audition 14.4 and all earlier 14.x versions are affected.Affected if Installed version is 14.4 or lower
The system is affected if Adobe Audition version 14.4 or any earlier version (14.0 through 14.3) is installed and the software is used to process audio files.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpdate Adobe Audition to the latest patched version (newer than 14.4) and exercise caution when opening audio files from untrusted sources.
Upgrade to Adobe Audition version 14.5 or later (the latest available version)
- Open Adobe Audition and go to Help > Check for Updates to check for available updates
- Alternatively, download the latest version of Adobe Audition from the official Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or website
- Ensure you back up any custom presets, settings, or projects before updating
- Install the update and restart Adobe Audition
- Verify the installation by checking Help > About Adobe Audition to confirm the version is higher than 14.4
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40736 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-40736 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data