Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Adobe Premiere Pro had a file parsing flaw where opening a malicious file could expose sensitive memory. The reported impact is information disclosure that may help bypass defenses such as ASLR. The attacker needs the victim to open the file, so exposure is concentrated in media workflows handling untrusted assets.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted workstation risk, not an internet-facing emergency. Patch affected creative systems promptly because successful exploitation can leak memory and weaken exploit mitigations, but the attacker must persuade a user to open a malicious file.
Technical view
CVE-2021-40791 is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Adobe Premiere Pro JPEG file parsing. Affected versions are Premiere Pro 22.0 and earlier and 15.4.2 and earlier. CVSS 3.1 is 5.5 with local attack vector, no privileges required, user interaction required, and high confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Workstations running affected Adobe Premiere Pro versions are most exposed, especially teams receiving project media, JPEGs, or archives from external contributors, clients, vendors, or public sources.
Exploitation context
The sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction: a victim must open a malicious file. The known impact is sensitive memory disclosure and potential mitigation bypass, not integrity or availability compromise.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports an out-of-bounds read information disclosure in JPEG parsing. Do not assume code execution from the provided sources. Exact fixed build details are not included in the bundle, so remediation should be anchored to Adobe APSB21-117.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB21-117 for the vendor-corrected Premiere Pro release.
- Update affected Premiere Pro installations according to Adobe guidance.
- Restrict opening untrusted media files on vulnerable workstations until updated.
- Prioritize creator, marketing, and production endpoints that process external files.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Premiere Pro versions across managed endpoints.
- Flag installations at 22.0 or earlier and 15.4.2 or earlier.
- Confirm patch status against Adobe APSB21-117.
- Review whether affected users handle externally supplied JPEG or project media.
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
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ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-125: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-40791 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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:N/A:N1.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_pro/apsb21-117.htmlCVE reference · vendor-advisory
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.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.