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After EffectsApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-22237

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 22.6.4 / 23.2.0 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
After Affects versions 23.1 (and earlier), 22.6.3 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds write vulnerability 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 confidence

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe After Effects versions 23.1 and earlier (and 22.6.3 and earlier) allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious file, executing in the context of the current user's privileges.

MitigationUpdate Adobe After Effects to version 23.2 or 22.6.4 or later, and avoid opening files from untrusted 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
After EffectsApplication
Affected:>= 22.0.0, < 22.6.4>= 23.0.0, < 23.2.0

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. Determine installed After Effects version
    Open Adobe After Effects, go to Help > About After Effects. Alternatively, open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app, click the gear icon for After Effects, and select 'View Details' to see the installed version.
    Affected if The version shown is 22.0.0 through 22.6.3, or 23.0.0 through 23.1.x (any version before 22.6.4 or 23.2.0)
  2. Confirm application is the 22.x release line
    If the version begins with 22 (for example 22.0.0, 22.5, 22.6.3), it falls in the first affected range. Note the exact minor version shown.
    Affected if Version starts with 22 and is less than 22.6.4
  3. Confirm application is the 23.x release line
    If the version begins with 23 (for example 23.0.0, 23.1), it falls in the second affected range. Note the exact minor version shown.
    Affected if Version starts with 23 and is less than 23.2.0
  4. Verify file opening is permitted
    The vulnerability triggers when After Effects opens a malicious file. Check if the application has permissions to open project files, footage files, or other assets from any location.
    Affected if The installed version is vulnerable AND users can open project or asset files from external or untrusted sources

A user is affected if Adobe After Effects version is 22.0.0-22.6.3 or 23.0.0-23.1.x and the application is used to open project files or footage assets.

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 22.6.4 / 23.2.0 or later
Fixed in 22.6.423.2.0
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe After Effects to version 23.2 or 22.6.4 or later, and avoid opening files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe After Effects 22.6.4 (for 22.x line) or Adobe After Effects 23.2.0 (for 23.x line)

  1. Identify the currently installed Adobe After Effects version via Help > About Adobe After Effects
  2. For After Effects 22.x users: Upgrade to version 22.6.4 or later
  3. For After Effects 23.x users: Upgrade to version 23.2.0 or later
  4. Download the updated version from the official Adobe website or use the Creative Cloud desktop application to update
  5. Restart After Effects after installation
  6. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release (22.6.4 or 23.2.0 or higher)

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

Fix this in After Effects Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-22237 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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