Media EncoderApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-43759

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.4.3 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 versions 22.0, 15.4.2 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious MP4 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 22.0, 15.4.2 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing malicious MP4 files, allowing disclosure of sensitive memory and potentially bypassing ASLR mitigations.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Media Encoder to a version newer than 22.0 or 15.4.2. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected MP4 files from unverified sources.

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:< 15.4.3= 22.0

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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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
    Check for Adobe Media Encoder in the system. On Windows, look in Program Files/Adobe or check the Start Menu. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Media Encoder.app
    Affected if The software is not installed on the system, this CVE does not apply
  2. Determine the installed version number
    Open Adobe Media Encoder, then go to Help > About Adobe Media Encoder. Alternatively, right-click the application in the Control Panel or Programs and Features to view version details
    Affected if Unable to determine the version number - further investigation needed
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare your installed version to: any version below 15.4.3 (15.4.2, 15.4.1, 15.4, etc.) OR exactly version 22.0
    Affected if Installed version is 22.0 or any version 15.4.2 and earlier - your environment is affected by this CVE

You are affected if Adobe Media Encoder is installed and the version is either exactly 22.0 or falls within 15.4.2 and earlier (i.e., less than 15.4.3).

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 15.4.3 or later
Fixed in 15.4.3
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Media Encoder to a version newer than 22.0 or 15.4.2. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected MP4 files from unverified sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Media Encoder 15.4.3 or later

  1. 1. Close Adobe Media Encoder if it is currently running
  2. 2. Navigate to the Adobe Media Encoder download page at helpx.adobe.com or use Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application
  3. 3. Download Adobe Media Encoder version 15.4.3 or later
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  5. 5. After installation, verify the installed version by opening Media Encoder and checking Help > About Adobe Media Encoder
  6. 6. Ensure the version displayed is 15.4.3 or higher

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-43759 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-43759 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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