dbcve.org
Character AnimatorApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-40763

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.4 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 Character Animator version 4.4 (and earlier) is affected by a memory corruption vulnerability when parsing a WAF file, potentially resulting in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability.

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 Character Animator versions 4.4 and earlier contain a memory corruption vulnerability during WAF file parsing, which could be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Successful exploitation requires a user to open a specially crafted malicious WAF file.

MitigationUpgrade Adobe Character Animator to version 4.4.1 or later. Avoid opening untrusted WAF files from unknown sources until the update is applied.

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
Character AnimatorApplication
Affected:<= 4.4

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:3.1/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 checks

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

  1. Check if Adobe Character Animator is installed
    On Windows: Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features, or open Settings > Apps & Features, and look for Adobe Character Animator. On macOS: Open Finder > Applications and look for Adobe Character Animator, or use Terminal: ls /Applications | grep -i character
    Affected if Adobe Character Animator is not present on the system, then the CVE does not apply
  2. Determine the installed version of Adobe Character Animator
    On Windows: Right-click the application in the Start menu or Apps & Features and select Properties, or open the application and go to Help > About Adobe Character Animator. On macOS: Right-click the application in Finder > Get Info, or open the application and go to Adobe Character Animator > About Adobe Character Animator
    Affected if The installed version is 4.4 or any earlier version (such as 4.3, 4.2, 4.1, 4.0, or older releases)
  3. Verify WAF file functionality is accessible
    WAF files are Adobe Character Animator project files used for character setups. Confirm the application can open or import WAF files by checking if the application has file association or import capability for .waf extension. On Windows: Search for .waf file extension associations. On macOS: Right-click a .waf file and Get Info to see associated application
    Affected if The application is present and can open WAF files, making the parsing vulnerability reachable if a user opens a malicious WAF file

A user is affected if Adobe Character Animator version 4.4 or earlier is installed and the application can open or parse WAF files, as exploitation requires opening a specially crafted WAF file.

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 4.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Adobe Character Animator to version 4.4.1 or later. Avoid opening untrusted WAF files from unknown sources until the update is applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Character Animator version newer than 4.4 (check Adobe's official release notes for the specific fixed version)

  1. 1. Close Adobe Character Animator if it is currently running
  2. 2. Download the latest version of Adobe Character Animator from the official Adobe website or Creative Cloud desktop application
  3. 3. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
  4. 4. Restart the application after installation completes
  5. 5. Verify the installed version by navigating to Help > About Adobe Character Animator
Caveat Standard upgrade considerations apply - test custom templates and workflows in the new version before production deployment

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

Fix this in Character Animator Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-40763 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-40763 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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