CVE-2021-40738
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 when parsing a WAV file, 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 · high confidenceAdobe Audition versions 14.4 and earlier contain a memory corruption vulnerability triggered when parsing specially crafted WAV audio files. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user by enticing the victim to open a malicious WAV file.
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:3.1/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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Confirm Adobe Audition is installedLook for Adobe Audition in the list of installed applications on the system (Windows: Programs and Features, macOS: Applications folder)Affected if Adobe Audition is not found on the system - not affected
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Determine installed Adobe Audition versionOpen Adobe Audition and navigate to Help > About Adobe Audition to view the exact version number, or check via the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application under Installed AppsAffected if Unable to determine version - cannot confirm status
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Compare version against affected rangeCheck if the installed version number is 14.4 or any version lower than 14.4Affected if Installed version is 14.4 or earlier - system is vulnerable to the memory corruption flaw when parsing specially crafted WAV files
A user is affected if Adobe Audition version 14.4 or earlier is installed and a specially crafted malicious WAV file is opened in the application
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 version 14.5 or later to obtain the vendor patch. Exercise caution when opening WAV files from untrusted or unknown sources.
Adobe Audition 14.5 or later
- Open Adobe Audition application
- Navigate to Help menu and select 'Check for Updates'
- Alternatively, visit adobe.com and download Adobe Audition version 14.5 or later
- Install the updated version of Adobe Audition
- Restart the application after installation
- Verify the installed version by going to Help > About Adobe Audition
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,512.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40738 — 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-2021-40738 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