CVE-2020-9650
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe Media Encoder that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. Users running Adobe Media Encoder versions 14.2 and earlier are vulnerable to this security flaw.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Media Encoder
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control over the victim's computer, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation or remote code execution when processing malicious media files, allowing attackers to run arbitrary commands with the privileges of the Media Encoder process.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper application sandboxing, least privilege principles, and network segmentation are implemented, potentially containing the exploit to the application context.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction to open a malicious media file. No public exploit code has been released as of the advisory date.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 14.3 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/media-encoder/apsb20-36.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application
2. Navigate to the 'Apps' section
3. Find Adobe Media Encoder
4. Click 'Update' if available
5. Alternatively, download the latest version from Adobe's website
6. Install the update and restart your computer
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict media file sources
allOnly open media files from trusted sources and avoid processing files from unknown or untrusted origins.
Run with reduced privileges
allRun Adobe Media Encoder with limited user privileges rather than administrative rights to reduce potential impact.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate affected systems from critical network segments and implement strict network segmentation
- Deploy application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized code and monitor for suspicious process creation
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Adobe Media Encoder version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Media Encoder. If version is 14.2 or earlier, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check program version in Control Panel > Programs and Features. On macOS: Right-click Adobe Media Encoder.app > Get Info.Verify Fix Applied:
After updating, verify the version is 14.3 or later using the same method. Ensure no error messages appear when processing various media file types.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes of Adobe Media Encoder
- Unexpected process creation from Media Encoder
- Memory access violation errors in system logs
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from Media Encoder process
- DNS requests to suspicious domains from the application
SIEM Query:
process_name:"Adobe Media Encoder.exe" AND (event_type:crash OR parent_process:unusual OR command_line:contains_suspicious_pattern)