CVE-2025-27195: Adobe Media Encoder Buffer Overflow Flaw

CVE-2025-27195 Overview

CVE-2025-27195 is a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Media Encoder that can lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The flaw affects Media Encoder versions 25.1, 24.6.4, and earlier on both Windows and macOS platforms. Exploitation requires user interaction, specifically the victim must open a malicious media file crafted by an attacker. Adobe addressed the issue in security advisory APSB25-24. The vulnerability maps to [CWE-122] Heap-based Buffer Overflow and [CWE-787] Out-of-bounds Write.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation grants attackers arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the logged-in user, enabling installation of malware, credential theft, or lateral movement.

Affected Products

Adobe Media Encoder 25.1 and earlier
Adobe Media Encoder 24.6.4 and earlier
Deployments on Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS

Discovery Timeline

2025-04-08 - CVE-2025-27195 published to NVD
2025-05-05 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-27195

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in Adobe Media Encoder's media file parsing logic. When the application processes a malformed media file, it writes data past the bounds of a heap-allocated buffer. This out-of-bounds write corrupts adjacent heap metadata and object structures used by the application.

Attackers who control the contents written beyond the buffer can manipulate function pointers, virtual table entries, or other control data on the heap. The corruption pathway provides a route to hijack execution flow and run attacker-supplied shellcode. The vulnerability requires only local interaction because Media Encoder must open the malicious file directly.

Adobe Media Encoder typically runs with the privileges of the interactive user, so successful exploitation inherits those rights. On systems where users operate with administrative privileges, the impact extends to full host compromise.

Root Cause

The root cause is insufficient validation of size or offset fields within the parsed media container. The parser allocates a fixed or attacker-influenced buffer on the heap, then copies file-supplied data without enforcing the allocation bounds. This is a classic [CWE-122] heap overflow paired with an [CWE-787] out-of-bounds write primitive.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is local and requires user interaction. An attacker delivers a crafted media file through phishing email, a watering-hole download, removable media, or a shared drive. When the user opens the file in Media Encoder or imports it into a project, the parser triggers the heap overflow and the embedded payload executes. No network access to the target is required after delivery.

The vulnerability does not require elevated privileges to exploit, but the resulting code runs at the privilege level of the user who opened the file. No proof-of-concept exploit is publicly available at this time, and the issue is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-27195

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by Adobe Media Encoder.exe or AME on macOS, particularly command interpreters such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or /bin/sh.
Crash events or Windows Error Reporting entries referencing Media Encoder modules following the opening of a media file from an untrusted source.
Outbound network connections initiated by the Media Encoder process to previously unseen domains or IP addresses.
New persistence artifacts such as scheduled tasks, Run keys, or LaunchAgents created shortly after a media file was opened.

Detection Strategies

Monitor process creation telemetry for Media Encoder spawning shells, scripting hosts, or living-off-the-land binaries.
Alert on Media Encoder writing executable files to user-writable directories such as %APPDATA%, %TEMP%, or ~/Library/Application Support.
Hunt for media files with anomalous structure or extreme size fields delivered through email gateways or web proxies.
Correlate application crash events with subsequent process or network activity from the same user session.

Monitoring Recommendations

Track Media Encoder version inventory using endpoint management tools to identify hosts still running 25.1, 24.6.4, or earlier.
Forward EDR process, file, and network telemetry to a centralized analytics platform for correlation across endpoints.
Enable Microsoft Defender Exploit Guard or equivalent memory protections and review logs for blocked exploitation attempts.
Audit user privilege levels to ensure designers and editors are not running as local administrators.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-27195

Immediate Actions Required

Update Adobe Media Encoder to the fixed version listed in APSB25-24 on all Windows and macOS hosts.
Block inbound delivery of unsolicited media files at email gateways and inspect archives for embedded media containers.
Remove local administrator rights from accounts that routinely process external media to limit blast radius.
Educate creative and editorial staff to avoid opening media files from unverified sources or unexpected senders.

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed builds of Media Encoder in security advisory APSB25-24. Administrators should deploy the vendor-supplied update through the Creative Cloud desktop client or enterprise deployment tooling. Verify the installed version on each endpoint after deployment to confirm successful remediation.

Workarounds

Restrict use of Media Encoder to dedicated workstations isolated from sensitive resources until patching is complete.
Apply application allowlisting to prevent Media Encoder from launching child processes outside an approved list.
Use Windows Defender Application Control or macOS Gatekeeper policies to constrain code execution from user-writable paths.
Inspect inbound media files in a sandbox before distributing them to production editing systems.

bash

# Configuration example: query installed Media Encoder version on Windows
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Media Encoder" /s /v Version

# macOS: check installed version
defaults read "/Applications/Adobe Media Encoder 2025/Adobe Media Encoder 2025.app/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleShortVersionString