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After EffectsApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-28606

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 18.2 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
Adobe After Effects version 18.2 (and earlier) is affected by a Stack-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 confidence

Adobe After Effects versions 18.2 and earlier contain a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability when parsing specially crafted files. An unauthenticated attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user by tricking a victim into opening a malicious file, requiring user interaction for exploitation.

MitigationUpdate Adobe After Effects to version 18.2.1 or later to patch the vulnerability. Avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited After Effects project files from unknown sources.

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
After EffectsApplication
Affected:<= 18.2

CVSS 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:3.0/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Adobe After Effects is installed
    Check for After Effects installation in typical locations: Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects [version]\Support Files\, or macOS: /Applications/Adobe After Effects [version]/, or use registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\After Effects in Windows
    Affected if After Effects is found on the system
  2. Retrieve the installed After Effects version number
    Windows: Right-click the After Effects executable (AfterFX.exe) in the installation folder, select Properties, then view the Details tab for Product Version. Alternatively, run: wmic product get name,version | findstr -i "After Effects" or check registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\After Effects\InstalledVersion. macOS: Right-click After Effects.app, Get Info, or run: defaults read /Applications/Adobe\ After\ Effects\* /Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or shows 18.2 or earlier
  3. Compare installed version against affected range
    If version is retrieved, compare the numeric version to 18.2. Note that version 18.2.1 and later are patched. Versions 18.0, 18.1, 18.2 and earlier are affected.
    Affected if Installed version is 18.2 or any earlier version (such as 18.0, 18.1, 17.x, etc.)
  4. Identify if user interaction risk exists
    Determine if the software is used to open project files from external or untrusted sources. This is a file-parsing vulnerability that requires a victim to open a specially crafted malicious file.
    Affected if Users routinely open .aep or other After Effects project files from unknown or untrusted sources

The environment is affected if Adobe After Effects version 18.2 or earlier is installed and users may open untrusted project files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 18.2
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe After Effects to version 18.2.1 or later to patch the vulnerability. Avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited After Effects project files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe After Effects version 18.2.1 or later (or latest available release)

  1. 1. Open Adobe After Effects on your system
  2. 2. Navigate to the Help menu and select 'Check for Updates' to see if version 18.2.1 or later is available
  3. 3. Alternatively, visit the official Adobe website at adobe.com and navigate to the After Effects download page
  4. 4. Download and install the latest version of Adobe After Effects available
  5. 5. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About After Effects
  6. 6. Ensure the installed version is newer than 18.2 (e.g., 18.2.1 or later)
Caveat Minor: Some scripts, plugins, or project files from older versions may require compatibility testing; new version may have different system requirements

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in After Effects Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-28606 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data