CVE-2019-8062
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAdobe After Effects versions 16 and earlier have an insecure library loading (dll hijacking) vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceAdobe After Effects versions 16 and earlier is vulnerable to DLL hijacking, where the application insecurely loads dynamic-link libraries from locations that may be controlled by an attacker. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 16CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed After Effects versionOpen Adobe After Effects, go to Help > About After Effects, or check the version in the Creative Cloud desktop app under the installed applications listAffected if The version displayed is 16.x or earlier (including 16.0, 15.x, 14.x, etc.)
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Check Windows DLL search order behaviorUse Process Monitor (Sysinternals) to trace DLL loading when launching After Effects. Filter by Path not beginning with trusted directories like Program Files or Windows\System32Affected if After Effects loads DLLs from user-writable directories such as the application working directory, temp folders, or directories adjacent to project files
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Verify executable locationLocate the After Effects executable (AfterFX.exe) and check its parent directory path. Also check the current working directory when launching the application via command promptAffected if After Effects is launched from or run in a directory writable by non-admin users, or from network locations
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Inspect DLL loading configurationReview the application manifest and any application configuration files for unsafe DLL search paths. Use Dependency Walker or dumpbin to examine imported DLLs and their expected load locationsAffected if The application has no safe DLL loading flags set and relies on the default Windows DLL search order (which includes the current directory)
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Check for vulnerable DLLs in search pathsSearch the After Effects installation directory and common user-writable directories for duplicate DLL names that may be loaded in preference to system DLLs. Focus on commonly hijacked DLLs such as version.dll or profapi.dllAffected if Any of these commonly targeted DLLs exist in directories that appear before system directories in the DLL search order
You are affected if Adobe After Effects version 16 or earlier is installed and the application loads DLLs from directories controllable by an attacker, such as the current working directory or user-writable paths.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the vendor patch when available. In the interim, ensure After Effects runs from trusted directories and avoid handling files from untrusted network locations. Remove vulnerable paths from the DLL search order where possible.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-8062 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-8062 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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