Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Adobe Premiere Pro 15.4 and earlier can be compromised if a user opens a malicious EXR image file. Successful exploitation could run code with that user’s permissions, affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability on editing workstations.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for teams that process external media assets. The flaw needs user interaction, but successful exploitation can give an attacker code execution on valuable workstations.
Technical view
CVE-2021-40715 is a high-severity memory corruption flaw in Premiere Pro EXR file parsing. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, and required user interaction. Impact is arbitrary code execution as the current user.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on creative, marketing, media, or contractor endpoints running Adobe Premiere Pro 15.4 or earlier, especially where users ingest EXR files from external sources.
Exploitation context
The supplied sources state exploitation requires opening a specially crafted EXR file. The CVE is not listed as KEV in the bundle, and no cited source here supports active exploitation.
Researcher notes
The source bundle identifies CWE-788 and EXR parsing memory corruption but does not include detailed root cause, proof of concept, or fixed-version text. Treat unsupported exploit claims cautiously and anchor validation to Adobe APSB21-67.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Premiere Pro installations and identify versions 15.4 or earlier.
- Review Adobe APSB21-67 and apply the vendor-recommended update or mitigation.
- Restrict opening EXR files from untrusted or unsolicited sources.
- Run media workstations with least-privilege user accounts.
- Increase scrutiny of externally supplied production assets until remediation is complete.
Validation and detection
- Confirm managed endpoints no longer run Premiere Pro 15.4 or earlier.
- Record remediation evidence against Adobe APSB21-67 for affected systems.
- Review endpoint telemetry for Premiere opening unexpected EXR files.
- Check whether media workflows accept EXR files from external parties.
- Validate creative users do not routinely operate with administrative privileges.
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-2021-40715 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 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/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:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/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_pro/apsb21-67.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.
Access of Memory Location After End of Buffer
Access of Memory Location After End of Buffer represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.