CVE-2021-40782
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 versions 15.4.1 and earlier contain a null pointer dereference vulnerability when parsing specially crafted media files. An unauthenticated attacker can trigger the vulnerability by tricking a user into opening a malicious file, causing the application to crash and result in denial-of-service in the context of the current user.
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.
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Identify Adobe Media Encoder installationOpen Adobe Media Encoder and navigate to Help > About Adobe Media Encoder, or check the installed version via the Creative Cloud desktop appAffected if Version displayed is 15.4.1 or earlier
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Confirm version numberLocate the exact version number in the About dialog or installer detailsAffected if Version number is 15.4.1 or any version below (e.g., 15.4, 15.3, 15.2, etc.)
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Verify the vulnerability trigger conditionDetermine whether the application is configured to process media files from untrusted sourcesAffected if Users in the environment routinely open media files from untrusted or unknown sources without prior validation
The environment is affected if Adobe Media Encoder version 15.4.1 or earlier is installed and users process media files from untrusted sources.
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 Media Encoder to version 15.4.2 or later to patch the vulnerability. Users should avoid opening untrusted or unexpected media files until the update is applied.
Adobe Media Encoder 15.4.2 or later (check Adobe for current latest release)
- 1. Close Adobe Media Encoder if it is currently running
- 2. Navigate to the Adobe Media Encoder download page at adobe.com or the Creative Cloud desktop application
- 3. Check for available updates to Adobe Media Encoder
- 4. Download and install the latest version of Adobe Media Encoder (version 15.4.2 or later)
- 5. After installation, verify the installed version by opening Media Encoder and checking Help > About Adobe Media Encoder
- 6. Ensure the installed version shows 15.4.2 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40782 — 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-2021-40782 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