Skip to main content

Adobe Stock API Key

An Adobe Stock API Key is a credential used to authenticate requests to the Adobe Stock API, which provides access to a vast library of high-quality images, videos, and other creative assets. This API key allows applications to search, license, and download content from Adobe Stock. Exposure of this API key is a significant security concern because it can lead to unauthorized access to Adobe Stock resources, potentially resulting in financial loss and misuse of licensed content.

How Does It Look​

Adobe Stock API Keys can appear in various contexts, such as:

  • Environment variables:

    export ADOBE_STOCK_API_KEY="abcd1234efgh5678ijkl9012mnop3456"

  • Configuration files (JSON):

    {
      "adobeStock": {
        "apiKey": "abcd1234efgh5678ijkl9012mnop3456"
      }
    }

  • Code snippets:

    const apiKey = "abcd1234efgh5678ijkl9012mnop3456";

  • Connection strings (if applicable): Not typically used in connection strings.

Severity​

  • 🟠 High

This severity level is due to the potential for unauthorized access to Adobe Stock resources. An exposed API key can allow an attacker to perform actions such as downloading licensed content, which could lead to financial charges. The blast radius includes any application or service that relies on this API key for accessing Adobe Stock.

What Can an Attacker Do?​

With immediate access to an Adobe Stock API Key, an attacker can exploit the API to perform unauthorized actions.

Key actions an attacker can perform:

  • Download licensed content (if the API key has permissions to license and download assets)
  • Access usage data (if the API key allows querying of account usage statistics)
  • Incur financial charges (if the API key is used to license content, leading to unexpected billing)
  • Exceed rate limits (if the API key is used excessively, potentially impacting legitimate use)

An attacker could potentially escalate their access by using the API key to gather information about the account, which might be used for further attacks or social engineering.

Real-World Impact​

Exposure of an Adobe Stock API Key poses significant business risks, including:

Primary impact includes unauthorized access to licensed content.

Potential consequences include:

  • Data Exposure: Unauthorized access to licensed images and videos (if the API key allows content download)
  • Financial Loss: Unexpected charges from unauthorized licensing of content (if billing is linked to the API key)
  • Operational Disruption: Legitimate users may face service interruptions due to rate limit exhaustion (if the API key is abused)
  • Reputational Damage: Loss of trust if clients discover unauthorized use of their licensed content

In a worst-case scenario, the exposure could lead to widespread misuse of licensed content, resulting in significant financial and reputational damage.

Prerequisites for Exploitation​

To exploit an exposed Adobe Stock API Key, an attacker needs:

  • Network access: Ability to send requests to the Adobe Stock API
  • Additional context: Knowledge of API endpoints and potential account-specific parameters
  • Rate limits: Awareness of any rate limits that might restrict excessive use

How to Verify If It's Active​

To verify if an Adobe Stock API Key is active, use the following command:

curl -X GET "https://api.adobe.io/v2/stock/search?q=example" -H "x-api-key: [API_KEY]"

Valid credential response: A successful response will return search results for the query, indicating the API key is active.

Invalid/expired credential response: An error message indicating authentication failure or invalid API key.

Detection Patterns​

Common Variable Names:

  • ADOBE_STOCK_API_KEY
  • STOCK_API_KEY
  • ADOBE_API_KEY
  • API_KEY
  • ADOBE_STOCK_KEY
  • STOCK_KEY

File Locations:

  • .env
  • config.json
  • settings.yaml
  • appsettings.json
  • credentials.txt

Regex Pattern:

[A-Za-z0-9]{32}

Remediation Steps​

  1. Revoke immediately - Go to Adobe Developer Console > Projects > [Your Project] > Credentials and delete the compromised API key.
  2. Audit access logs - Review Adobe Stock API logs for unauthorized requests or downloads during the exposure window.
  3. Assess blast radius - Identify all systems, applications, and environments that used the exposed API key.
  4. Rotate credential - Generate a new API key in the Adobe Developer Console with least-privilege permissions.
  5. Update dependent systems - Deploy the new API key to all applications and update CI/CD pipelines securely.
  6. Harden access controls - Implement IP allowlisting and rate limiting in Adobe Stock API settings.
  7. Implement secrets management - Migrate API keys to a secrets manager (HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager) to prevent hardcoding.
  8. Add detection controls - Set up pre-commit hooks and repository scanning to catch credential leaks before they reach production.

Credential exposures often go undetected for extended periods, increasing the window for exploitation. As a long-term strategy, plan to establish an internal process or engage an external vendor for continuous external exposure monitoring. This helps identify leaked secrets across public repositories, paste sites, dark web forums, and other external sources before attackers can leverage them. Proactive detection and rapid response are essential to minimizing the impact of credential leaks.

References​