CVE-2021-40778
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 Media Encoder 15.4.1 (and earlier) is affected by a Null pointer dereference vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve an application denial-of-service in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
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 Media Encoder contains a null pointer dereference vulnerability in its file parsing logic. When the application parses a specially crafted media file, it attempts to dereference a null pointer, causing the application to crash and resulting in denial-of-service. The attack requires user interaction, specifically opening a malicious 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<= 15.4.1CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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.
-
Locate Adobe Media Encoder installationOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or on macOS open Finder > Applications, and locate 'Adobe Media Encoder' in the installed programs list.Affected if Adobe Media Encoder is installed on the system.
-
Determine the installed version numberIn Windows: Right-click Adobe Media Encoder in Programs and Features, select Properties, and view the Version field. On macOS: Right-click Adobe Media Encoder in Applications, select Get Info, and view the Version field. Alternatively, launch the application and go to Help > About Adobe Media Encoder to display the version.Affected if The displayed version number is 15.4.1 or earlier.
-
Verify the exact version against the affected rangeCompare the installed version to the affected range: versions 15.4.1 and below are vulnerable. Versions 15.4.2 and later are not affected.Affected if The installed version is 15.4.1 or any earlier 15.x release (such as 15.4, 15.2, 15.0, etc.).
-
Confirm file parsing functionality is presentAdobe Media Encoder is a media encoding application, so its file parsing and media import capabilities are always enabled by default. No configuration change is required for the vulnerability to apply.Affected if Adobe Media Encoder is installed and functional - the vulnerability triggers when parsing specially crafted media files.
A user is affected if Adobe Media Encoder version 15.4.1 or earlier is installed, since the null pointer dereference flaw exists in the file parsing logic and requires only opening a malicious media file to trigger the denial-of-service condition.
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.
From vendor dataUpdate Adobe Media Encoder to version 15.4.2 or later. Avoid opening media files from untrusted or unknown sources.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,904.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40778 — 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-2021-40778 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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