Do you use the Adobe Media Encoder?
Adobe took the unusual step of releasing an out-of-band patch to address a trio of serious security issues in Adobe Media Encoder.
The program is used by tens of thousands of people around the world to encode audio and video in a variety of formats.
The issues addressed by this patch are
All three are out of bound read security flaws that could lead to contextual information about the current user being leaked. All three issues are rated as 'Serious' and impact version 14.4 of Media Encoder on both Mac and Windows-based machines.
There are a couple of points of interest here. First, these issues are rated 'Serious,' not critical, which makes it unusual that Adobe (or any company) would rush an out of band patch out the door to address them. Second, they've only been given a severity rating of 3, which generally denotes that the bugs aren't a high priority or likely target for hackers to exploit, which only deepens the mystery.
Given the two facts above
It's almost impossible not to speculate that something else must be going on behind the scenes. Unfortunately, we're unlikely to learn the truth of that, even if there is some deeper issue or concern lurking in the minds of Adobe's product managers.
In any event, if you use Adobe Media Encoder, you'll probably want to take advantage of the out of band patch and upgrade at your next convenience. Just because the hackers haven't made a target of these issues doesn't mean they won't start. If you're unpatched, you're vulnerable.
Our perspective
Kudos to Adobe for their unusually swift action here, and to independent security researcher Radu Motspan, who spotted them and reported them to the company.
~ As Hill Street Blues' Sgt. Esterhaus always advised: "Hey, let's be careful out there! " ~
By Denis Wilson and Melissa Stockwell
Thanks for reading this short post. For more tips on thriving with small business technology, check out the other blog posts at DWPIA Blogs. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
I'm Denis Wilson, President and Principal Consultant for DWP Information Architects. We build people/process/technology solutions to create better business outcomes for smaller enterprises in Los Angeles. We have created cost-effective office productivity and out-sourced service solutions for over 20 years, focusing principally on manufacturing, professional services, and healthcare. Our hallmarks are cloud and on-premises network reliability, cost-effective cybersecurity, and livable small business regulatory compliance.
I am also a published author and speaker, working extensively with business and professional associations to provide small business technology education programs. Contact me if you would like me to speak at your association
