CVE-2020-9654
📋 TL;DR
Adobe Premiere Pro versions 14.2 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. This affects users running vulnerable versions of Premiere Pro on any supported operating system. Successful exploitation requires user interaction such as opening a malicious file.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Premiere Pro
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control over the workstation, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement within the network.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, allowing file system access, credential harvesting, and persistence mechanisms.
If Mitigated
Limited impact due to proper application sandboxing, limited user privileges, and network segmentation preventing lateral movement.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file). No public exploit code available at time of advisory.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 14.3 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/premiere_pro/apsb20-38.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application 2. Navigate to 'Apps' tab 3. Find Premiere Pro and click 'Update' 4. Follow on-screen prompts to complete installation 5. Restart computer if prompted
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict file opening
allPrevent users from opening untrusted Premiere Pro project files or media from unknown sources
Application control
windowsUse application whitelisting to restrict execution of Premiere Pro to trusted locations only
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate affected systems from critical network segments and limit internet access
- Implement strict user privilege controls and run Premiere Pro with minimal necessary permissions
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Premiere Pro version via Help > About Premiere Pro. If version is 14.2 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Premiere Pro\14.0\Version. On macOS: Check /Applications/Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2020/Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2020.app/Contents/Info.plistVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 14.3 or later in Help > About Premiere Pro and check Creative Cloud shows no available updates.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes of Premiere Pro with unusual error codes
- Unexpected child processes spawned from Premiere Pro
- Suspicious file access patterns from Premiere Pro process
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from Premiere Pro to unusual destinations
- DNS requests for suspicious domains from workstation running Premiere Pro
SIEM Query:
process_name:"Adobe Premiere Pro.exe" AND (event_id:1000 OR event_id:1001) AND version:"14.2"