AnimateApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-38412

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 22.0.7 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 Animate version 21.0.11 (and earlier) and 22.0.7 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a crafted file, which could result in a read past the end of an allocated memory structure. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to execute code 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 Animate contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing crafted files, allowing reading past the end of allocated memory structures. This memory disclosure can be leveraged for arbitrary code execution within the context of the current user. Exploitation requires the victim to open a malicious file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Animate to version 22.0.8 or later (for 22.x) or 21.0.12 or later (for 21.x). Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unexpected animation 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
AnimateApplication
Affected:>= 21.0, <= 21.0.11>= 22.0, <= 22.0.7

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. Locate Adobe Animate installation
    Check for Adobe Animate in typical installation paths: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Animate 2022\ or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Animate 2021\, or use Windows Search to find 'Animate.exe' or 'Adobe Animate.exe'
    Affected if Adobe Animate is installed on the system
  2. Determine installed version
    Right-click the Animate executable, select Properties, then go to the Details tab and note the Product Version field
    Affected if The version falls within 21.0.0 through 21.0.11 OR 22.0.0 through 22.0.7
  3. Check Windows Registry for version
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Animate\ or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Animate\, check the Version or VersionNumber value
    Affected if The registry shows a version matching the affected ranges
  4. Verify vulnerability trigger condition
    Confirm that the current user or application processes Adobe Animate files (.fla, .xfl, or .swf) from external or untrusted sources
    Affected if Users routinely open Animate files from unknown or untrusted sources without verification

A user is affected if Adobe Animate version is 21.0.0-21.0.11 or 22.0.0-22.0.7 AND they process Animate files from untrusted sources.

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 22.0.7
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Animate to version 22.0.8 or later (for 22.x) or 21.0.12 or later (for 21.x). Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unexpected animation files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Animate 22.0.8 or later (or 21.0.12 or later for the 21.x branch)

  1. Verify your current Adobe Animate version by opening the application and going to Help > About Adobe Animate
  2. Close Adobe Animate completely before upgrading
  3. Download Adobe Animate version 22.0.8 or later from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/animate) or through the Creative Cloud desktop application
  4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  5. Restart your computer after installation completes
  6. Verify the new version by opening Animate and checking Help > About Adobe Animate to confirm you are on 22.0.8 or later (or 21.0.12 or later if staying on the 21.x branch)
  7. Exercise caution when opening files from untrusted sources going forward
Caveat Adobe Creative Cloud subscription required; ensure compatibility with existing project files and third-party extensions

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

Fix this in Animate Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-38412 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-38412 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