CVE-2021-28608
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 versions 18.2 and earlier contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability triggered when parsing specially crafted files. An 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 but no authentication.
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:3.0/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Adobe After Effects versionOpen Adobe After Effects and navigate to Help > About After Effects, or check via Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app by clicking the gear icon next to After Effects and selecting 'View Details' or 'Check for Updates'Affected if Version displayed is 18.2 or any version lower than 18.2 (e.g., 18.1, 18.0, 17.x, etc.)
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Confirm the application is in useAfter Effects must be running or capable of opening project files for the vulnerability to be triggeredAffected if The application is installed and the user opens untrusted or unsolicited project files (.aep, .aepx, or related media files)
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Review file opening behaviorObserve if After Effects attempts to parse files automatically upon opening, which triggers the parsing code path where the buffer overflow occursAffected if Maliciously crafted files are opened in the affected version, causing the heap-based overflow during parsing
A user is affected if Adobe After Effects version 18.2 or earlier is installed and they open specially crafted malicious files, as the heap-based buffer overflow occurs during file parsing.
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 · scopedApply the vendor patch for Adobe After Effects (version 18.2.1 or later) when available, and exercise caution when opening files from untrusted sources.
After Effects 18.2.1 or later
- Upgrade Adobe After Effects to version 18.2.1 or later
- After upgrading, verify the version by going to Help > About After Effects
- Ensure your Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application is up to date to receive future security patches
- Avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited files, as exploitation requires user interaction (opening a malicious file)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-28608 — 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-2021-28608 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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