CVE-2026-48298: Adobe C2pa Integer Underflow DoS Vulnerability

CVE-2026-48298 Overview

CVE-2026-48298 is an Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound) vulnerability [CWE-191] affecting Adobe's Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) Content Credentials software. The flaw allows a local attacker to trigger an application crash, producing a denial-of-service condition. Exploitation does not require user interaction or authentication. The vulnerability affects the Adobe c2pa Rust library, the c2pa-web Node.js package, and the c2patool command-line utility across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android platforms. Adobe published security bulletin APSB26-80 to address the issue.

Critical Impact
A local attacker can crash applications using the Adobe Content Authenticity SDK by supplying a crafted C2PA-signed asset, resulting in loss of availability for content verification workflows.

Affected Products

Adobe C2PA (Rust library)
Adobe C2PA-Web (Node.js package)
Adobe C2PATool (command-line utility)

Discovery Timeline

2026-07-14 - CVE-2026-48298 published to NVD
2026-07-16 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-48298

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in Adobe's C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) implementation, which parses and validates content credentials embedded in media assets. The affected components process metadata manifests that describe asset provenance, signatures, and edit history.

An integer underflow occurs when arithmetic operations on unsigned values produce a result below zero, causing the value to wrap around to a large positive number. In parsing contexts, this typically corrupts length calculations, buffer offsets, or loop counters. The downstream effect is an out-of-bounds memory access or an invalid allocation that terminates the process.

Because the C2PA libraries are embedded in creative applications, browser components, and command-line tools, the crash surface extends to any workflow that ingests untrusted C2PA-signed assets.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper validation of size or length fields during manifest parsing in the C2PA SDK. When a crafted input causes an unsigned integer computation to underflow, the resulting wrapped value drives subsequent memory operations into invalid states. This is classified under [CWE-191: Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound)].

Attack Vector

The attack vector is local. An attacker must deliver a malicious C2PA asset to a system where the vulnerable SDK, c2patool, or c2pa-web package processes it. Because processing does not require user interaction beyond opening or scanning the asset, automated pipelines such as content ingestion services, media asset managers, or verification workers are at risk. The impact is limited to availability. Confidentiality and integrity are not affected according to the published CVSS vector.

No verified proof-of-concept code is published. See the Adobe Security Patch APSB26-80 for vendor technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-48298

Indicators of Compromise

Repeated crashes or abnormal termination of processes linked against the Adobe C2PA library, c2patool, or applications using c2pa-web.
Application error events referencing manifest parsing failures, out-of-bounds reads, or unhandled exceptions in C2PA code paths.
Unexpected C2PA-signed media files appearing in ingestion queues from untrusted sources.

Detection Strategies

Monitor process termination events and unexpected exit codes on hosts running C2PA-enabled applications or automated verification services.
Inspect crash dumps and Windows Error Reporting, macOS CrashReporter, or Linux coredumpctl output for stack frames within the c2pa module.
Correlate media ingestion events with subsequent process crashes to identify malicious asset delivery patterns.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose logging in c2patool and downstream verification services to capture manifest parsing errors.
Track version inventory of Adobe C2PA components across developer workstations, build agents, and content pipelines.
Alert on repeated failures in automated C2PA validation jobs, which may indicate targeted denial-of-service attempts.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-48298

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the patched versions of Adobe C2PA, C2PA-Web, and C2PATool as specified in Adobe security bulletin APSB26-80.
Inventory all applications, services, and pipelines that link against the Adobe Content Authenticity SDK and prioritize those exposed to untrusted input.
Restrict processing of C2PA-signed assets from untrusted sources until patches are deployed.

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed versions of the affected components in security bulletin APSB26-80. Refer to the Adobe Security Patch APSB26-80 for the specific patched versions and upgrade guidance for the Rust crate, Node.js package, and c2patool binary.

Workarounds

Isolate C2PA parsing workloads in sandboxed processes or containers to contain crashes and prevent cascading failures.
Implement input filtering to reject C2PA assets that exceed expected size thresholds or originate from unverified sources.
Add automatic restart supervision (systemd, container orchestrator restart policies) for services that must process C2PA content, minimizing downtime from crash-based denial of service.

bash

# Verify installed c2patool version and upgrade
c2patool --version
cargo update -p c2pa
npm update c2pa-web