Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Adobe Premiere Rush 1.5.16 and earlier can be compromised if a user opens a malicious EXR file. Successful exploitation could let attacker-controlled code run with that user's privileges, affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This is most urgent for teams handling external media files.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority endpoint risk for media-handling users, not a broad internet-facing emergency. Remediate quickly where Premiere Rush is used with external files, because successful exploitation can run code as the logged-in user.
Technical view
The CVE describes memory corruption from insecure EXR file handling in Adobe Premiere Rush. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, and required user interaction. Impact is arbitrary code execution in the current user's context.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to systems with Adobe Premiere Rush 1.5.16 or earlier, especially users who receive or import EXR media from external or untrusted sources. Server exposure is not indicated by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The sources require user interaction and do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. An attacker would need to persuade a target to open a crafted EXR file in an affected Premiere Rush installation.
Researcher notes
CWE-788 indicates memory access outside valid bounds. The provided evidence does not include exploit availability, indicators of compromise, or a specific fixed version. Use Adobe APSB21-101 as the authoritative remediation source and avoid validation by opening crafted files.
Mitigation direction
- Apply Adobe guidance from APSB21-101 for Premiere Rush.
- Update or remove Premiere Rush versions 1.5.16 and earlier.
- Restrict opening EXR files from untrusted sources.
- Route externally supplied media through established malware-scanning workflows.
- Prioritize remediation for creative, marketing, and media-production endpoints.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints for Adobe Premiere Rush installations and versions.
- Confirm no systems remain on version 1.5.16 or earlier.
- Review workflows that ingest EXR files from third parties.
- Check security telemetry for unusual Premiere Rush crashes or suspicious post-open behavior.
- Document compensating controls where immediate update is not possible.
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-2021-43021 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_rush/apsb21-101.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.