CVE-2021-42269
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 Animate version 21.0.9 (and earlier) are affected by a use-after-free vulnerability in the processing of a malformed FLA file that could result in 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 Animate versions 21.0.9 and earlier contain a use-after-free vulnerability when parsing malformed FLA files. The memory corruption occurs during file processing, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Successful exploitation requires user interaction to open a malicious FLA file.
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<= 21.0.9CVSS 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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Confirm Adobe Animate is installedCheck for the presence of Adobe Animate in the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\ or look for the Animate.exe executable in typical installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Animate 2021\Affected if Adobe Animate is not found on the system, the vulnerability does not apply
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Identify the installed Adobe Animate versionRight-click on Animate.exe in the installation directory, select Properties, then view the Details tab to read the Product Version field. Alternatively, open Adobe Animate and go to Help > About Adobe Animate to display the version number.Affected if The displayed version is 21.0.9 or any version number lower than 21.0.9
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Verify the FLA file parsing feature is accessibleConfirm that Adobe Animate can open .fla project files through File > Open or by attempting to open a sample FLA file.Affected if The FLA file parsing functionality exists and is operational in the installed version
A system is affected if Adobe Animate version 21.0.9 or earlier is installed and the application can be used to open FLA 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 · scopedUpgrade Adobe Animate to a version newer than 21.0.9. Avoid opening FLA files from untrusted or unknown sources until the update is applied.
Adobe Animate 21.1.0 or later
- 1. Close Adobe Animate if it is currently running
- 2. Back up any current projects and custom settings as a precaution
- 3. Uninstall the current version of Adobe Animate (21.0.9 or earlier) from the system
- 4. Download Adobe Animate version 21.1.0 or later from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/animate) or through the Creative Cloud desktop application
- 5. Install the updated version following the on-screen prompts
- 6. After installation, verify the installed version by opening Animate and checking Help > About Adobe Animate
- 7. Ensure the version shows 21.1.0 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 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-2021-42269 — 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-2021-42269 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data