Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability affects Adobe Premiere Elements when it processes a malicious TIFF file. If a user opens the file, an attacker could run code with that user's permissions. The business risk is workstation compromise through social engineering or unsafe media handling, not remote compromise without user action.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted workstation risk. Prioritize remediation for creative, marketing, and media-handling users who process external files, but do not escalate as internet-wide active exploitation based on the provided evidence.
Technical view
CVE-2021-40700 is a high-severity memory corruption issue in Adobe Premiere Elements 2021.2235820 and earlier. The CVSS 3.0 score is 7.8 with local attack vector, no privileges required, required user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. The listed weakness is CWE-788.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to endpoints running Adobe Premiere Elements 2021.2235820 or earlier, especially users who receive or process external media files. The provided affected-product metadata is sparse, so inventory should rely on installed application name and version.
Exploitation context
The source bundle says exploitation requires user interaction with a malicious TIFF file. CISA KEV status is false, and the provided sources do not state active exploitation or public exploit availability.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports arbitrary code execution in the current user context via malicious TIFF parsing. Product and version metadata in the bundle is incomplete beyond Premiere Elements 2021.2235820 and earlier, so avoid broad Adobe Premiere assumptions without Adobe advisory confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB21-78 for vendor update guidance.
- Update or retire affected Premiere Elements installations where applicable.
- Avoid opening TIFF files from untrusted or unexpected sources.
- Limit affected software use to trusted media workflows until remediated.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints for Adobe Premiere Elements installations.
- Flag versions 2021.2235820 and earlier as potentially affected.
- Confirm remediation status against Adobe APSB21-78.
- Review user groups that handle third-party TIFF or media files.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-788: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-40700 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_elements/apsb21-78.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.