CVE-2020-9658
📋 TL;DR
Adobe Audition versions 13.0.6 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 Adobe Audition on any supported operating system. Successful exploitation requires user interaction, such as opening a malicious file.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Audition
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control of the affected machine, 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 attackers to install malware, steal files, or establish persistence.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper application sandboxing, least privilege principles, and network segmentation are implemented, potentially containing the exploit to the user's session.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file) and knowledge of memory corruption techniques. No public exploit code was available at disclosure.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 13.0.7 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/audition/apsb20-40.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application. 2. Navigate to the 'Apps' tab. 3. Find Adobe Audition and click 'Update'. 4. Alternatively, download the latest version from Adobe's website. 5. Restart the application after installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict file opening
allPrevent users from opening untrusted audio project files from unknown sources.
Application sandboxing
allRun Adobe Audition in a sandboxed environment to limit potential damage from exploitation.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove Adobe Audition from affected systems until patching is possible
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized binaries that might result from exploitation
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Adobe Audition version via Help > About Audition. If version is 13.0.6 or earlier, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check via Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. On macOS: Check via Applications folder > Right-click Adobe Audition > Get Info.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 13.0.7 or later in Help > About Audition after applying the update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes with memory access violations
- Unusual process creation from Adobe Audition
- Suspicious file access patterns
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected outbound connections from Adobe Audition process
- DNS requests to suspicious domains
SIEM Query:
Process creation where parent_process_name contains 'Audition' AND (process_name contains 'cmd.exe' OR process_name contains 'powershell.exe' OR process_name contains 'sh' OR process_name contains 'bash')