Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A malicious WAV audio file could make Adobe Prelude 10.1 or earlier run attacker-controlled code when opened by a user. The impact is serious because code runs as the current user, but exploitation requires tricking someone into opening a crafted file.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation on creative, media, and marketing workstations that process external audio files. This is not network-wormable, but a successful phish or file-share lure could compromise a user's workstation.
Technical view
CVE-2021-42737 is a memory corruption flaw in Adobe Prelude's handling of malicious WAV files. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.8, with local attack vector, no privileges required, required user interaction, unchanged scope, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on workstations where Adobe Prelude 10.1 or earlier is installed and users handle WAV files from email, downloads, shared drives, or external parties.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show known active exploitation or CISA KEV listing. Exploitation requires user interaction: the victim must open a specially crafted WAV file in Adobe Prelude.
Researcher notes
The source bundle identifies memory corruption during WAV parsing and maps the issue to CWE-788. It does not provide deeper root-cause detail, proof-of-concept status, or exploit indicators, so validation should stay focused on version exposure and vendor advisory alignment.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Adobe Prelude installations and identify versions 10.1 or earlier.
- Review Adobe APSB21-96 and apply Adobe's published security guidance.
- Restrict opening untrusted WAV files until affected systems are remediated.
- Use endpoint controls to limit damage from user-context code execution.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Adobe Prelude is installed on managed endpoints.
- Compare installed versions against the affected 10.1-and-earlier range.
- Check patch management records for remediation tied to APSB21-96.
- Review endpoint telemetry for Prelude opening WAV files from untrusted locations.
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-2021-42737 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/prelude/apsb21-96.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.