Adobe's new Creative Cloud update fixes CPU usage bug on macOS Big Sur

Adobe Creative Cloud on Mac (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Adobe has released an update for Creative Cloud that fixes an issue causing unusually high CPU usage on macOS Big Sur.

Adobe today released a new update to its Creative Cloud app that fixes a bug that caused some users to experience unusually high CPU usage when running it on macOS Big Sur.

While it didn't impact everyone, a number of people noticed that the Creative Cloud background processes would spin up the fans and run a Mac's CPU at 100% load. 9to5Mac notes that the CCXProcess and CCLibrary background processes were generally at fault and that the 16-inch MacBook Pro was the often the Mac impacted.

Ever since I upgraded to MacOS Big Sur, I've encountered an issue when starting up my computer that the CPU load is at 100% and the fans are running at maximum speed. The Activity Monitor shows that the culprit are two Adobe CC-related processes, something called CCXProcess and CCLibrary. The only way to stop this is to Force Quit the processes otherwise the CPU load and overheating will continue as long as my laptop is on.

Adobe today confirmed that the fix had been rolled out.

CCXProcess team has released the update with a fix. It should be CCXProcess 4.1.3 - you can check the version in CCD -> Help -> About Creative Cloud.

I'd suggest making sure you have the latest version installed sooner rather than later, even if you haven't been experiencing this particular bug.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.