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Media EncoderApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-40781

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.4.1 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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 · unedited
Adobe 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 confidence

Adobe Media Encoder versions 15.4.1 and earlier contain a null pointer dereference vulnerability that occurs when parsing specially crafted media files. An unauthenticated attacker can trigger the vulnerability by enticing a user to open a malicious file, causing the application to crash and resulting in a denial-of-service condition.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Media Encoder to version 15.4.2 or later. Until patched, warn users against opening media files from untrusted sources and consider implementing application whitelisting or sandboxing as additional defense-in-depth measures.

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
Media EncoderApplication
Affected:<= 15.4.1

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Adobe Media Encoder is installed
    On Windows, check for the application in Program Files (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Media Encoder) or search for 'Adobe Media Encoder' in the Start menu. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Media Encoder.app.
    Affected if Adobe Media Encoder is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version number
    On Windows, right-click the Adobe Media Encoder executable, select Properties, and view the Details tab for the Product Version. Alternatively, open the application and go to Help > About Adobe Media Encoder to display the version.
    Affected if Version displayed is 15.4.1 or earlier, or if the version cannot be determined but the application is present
  3. Check the file parsing feature exposure
    The vulnerability is triggered when the application parses specially crafted media files. Verify whether users have the ability to import or encode media files from external or untrusted sources.
    Affected if Users can open media files from untrusted sources and the version is 15.4.1 or earlier
  4. Confirm application launch capability
    Attempt to launch Adobe Media Encoder normally. The null pointer dereference causes a crash when processing a malicious file, so the crash would occur upon opening such a file, not during normal application startup.
    Affected if The application can be launched and processes media files, combined with being on version 15.4.1 or earlier

A user is affected if Adobe Media Encoder version 15.4.1 or earlier is installed and users can open media files from untrusted sources, as the null pointer dereference triggers when parsing a specially crafted file.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 15.4.1
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Media Encoder to version 15.4.2 or later. Until patched, warn users against opening media files from untrusted sources and consider implementing application whitelisting or sandboxing as additional defense-in-depth measures.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Media Encoder 15.4.2 or later

  1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or visit the Adobe Media Encoder download page
  2. Navigate to the Updates or Downloads section
  3. Check for available updates to Adobe Media Encoder
  4. Download and install the latest version (version 15.4.2 or later)
  5. Restart the application if prompted
  6. Verify the installed version by opening Media Encoder and checking Help > About Adobe Media Encoder
Caveat Minor version update; no significant breaking changes expected for typical workflows

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Media Encoder Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-40781 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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