CVE-2022-27783
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 versions 22.2.1 (and earlier) and 18.4.5 (and earlier) are affected by a stack overflow vulnerability due to insecure handling of a crafted file, potentially resulting in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction in that a victim must open a crafted file in After Effects.
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 confidenceA stack overflow vulnerability exists in Adobe After Effects versions 22.2.1 and earlier, as well as 18.4.5 and earlier. The vulnerability stems from insecure handling of crafted files during parsing, allowing an attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction—specifically, opening a malicious After Effects project 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<= 18.4.5>= 22.0, <= 22.2.1CVSS 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 After Effects installationCheck common installation paths: Windows typically at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects [version]\Support Files\AfterFX.exe or C:\Program Files\Adobe\After Effects [version]\Support Files\AfterFX.exe. On macOS, check /Applications/Adobe After Effects [version]/After Effects.appAffected if After Effects is installed on the system
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Identify installed After Effects versionOn Windows, right-click the AfterFX.exe file, select Properties, and view the Details tab for Product Version. On macOS, right-click After Effects.app, select Get Info, and view the Version field under GeneralAffected if Version number matches vulnerable ranges <= 18.4.5 or >= 22.0 through 22.2.1
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Verify version across multiple installationsIf multiple After Effects versions are installed, check each installation folder individually as older versions may coexist with newer onesAffected if Any installed instance falls within the vulnerable version ranges
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Confirm application is used for project file handlingAfter Effects inherently parses project files (.aep, .aepx) when opened. No configuration check needed, the vulnerability triggers when a user opens a crafted file in the applicationAffected if The vulnerable version is installed and the application can open project files
A system is affected if Adobe After Effects version 22.2.1 or earlier (22.x branch) or version 18.4.5 or earlier (18.x branch) is installed, since the vulnerability lies in the application's file parsing functionality itself.
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 After Effects to version 22.3 or later (Windows) and 18.4.6 or later (macOS). Until patched, avoid opening After Effects files from untrusted sources.
Adobe After Effects 22.3 or later for the 22.x line; Adobe After Effects 18.5 or later for the 18.x line (or migrate to latest 22.x/23.x version)
- 1. Open Adobe After Effects on your system
- 2. Go to Help > Check for Updates to see if a newer version is available
- 3. If an update is available, follow the prompts to download and install it
- 4. Alternatively, manually download the latest version of Adobe After Effects from the official Adobe website at adobe.com
- 5. Ensure you close all After Effects instances before running the installer
- 6. After installation, verify the version by going to Help > About After Effects
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 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-2022-27783 — 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-2022-27783 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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