CVE-2021-28604
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 version 18.2 (and earlier) is affected by a Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
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 · high confidenceAdobe After Effects version 18.2 and earlier contains a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability when parsing specially crafted files. An attacker can embed malicious data in a file that, when opened by a victim, triggers the overflow and 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<= 18.2CVSS 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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Locate installed After Effects versionOpen Adobe After Effects and go to Help > About After Effects, or check the application's installation information in your system's program listAffected if The displayed version number is 18.2 or lower (for example, 18.2, 18.1, 18.0, 17.x, etc.)
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Verify After Effects is present on the systemCheck if Adobe After Effects is installed by looking in the system application list (Windows Settings > Apps, or macOS Applications folder)Affected if After Effects version 18.2 or earlier appears in the installed programs list
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Confirm the file parsing vulnerability contextThis vulnerability triggers when After Effects opens specially crafted project or media files - no specific system configuration enables this beyond having the application installedAffected if After Effects version 18.2 or earlier is present and can be used to open project files
If Adobe After Effects version 18.2 or earlier is installed on the system, the environment is affected by this heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability when parsing untrusted files.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate Adobe After Effects to the latest version. Avoid opening files from untrusted or unknown sources.
After Effects 18.2.1 or later (recommended: latest available version)
- 1. Close any running instances of Adobe After Effects
- 2. Navigate to the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or adobe.com/downloads
- 3. Locate Adobe After Effects in your installed applications
- 4. Update to the latest available version (version 18.2.1 or later)
- 5. Verify the update was successful by checking Help > About After Effects
- 6. Ensure all users are warned not to open untrusted or unexpected After Effects project files from unknown sources
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing0.5 h
- Review / QA0.5 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-28604 — 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-2021-28604 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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