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After EffectsApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-22238

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 · moderate confidence

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in Adobe After Effects versions 23.1 and earlier, and 22.6.3 and earlier. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, but requires the victim to open a malicious file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe After Effects to a version newer than 23.1 and 22.6.3. Avoid opening untrusted 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
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. Check if Adobe After Effects is installed
    On Windows, check C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects <version>\Support Files\AfterFX.exe or look in the Applications folder on macOS. Alternatively, open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app and check the Installed apps section.
    Affected if After Effects is not installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed After Effects version number
    Open After Effects, then go to Help > About After Effects. The version number will be displayed in the splash screen or about dialog. On Windows, you can also right-click AfterFX.exe, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the product version.
    Affected if The installed version cannot be determined or is not visible
  3. Compare your version against affected ranges
    Check if your installed version falls within: 22.0.0 to 22.6.3 inclusive, or 23.0.0 to 23.1 inclusive. Versions 22.6.4 and above, or 23.2.0 and above are not affected.
    Affected if Your version is 22.0.0 through 22.6.3, or 23.0.0 through 23.1 (any build within these ranges)
  4. Assess file opening behavior
    The vulnerability requires opening a malicious file. Check if users in your environment commonly open project files (.aep), footage files, or other assets from untrusted or unknown sources.
    Affected if Users routinely open files from untrusted or unknown sources without prior verification

You are affected if Adobe After Effects is installed with version 22.0.0-22.6.3 or 23.0.0-23.1 and users may open untrusted files.

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 a version newer than 23.1 and 22.6.3. Avoid opening untrusted files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. 1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to the Adobe After Effects download page.
  2. 2. If using Creative Cloud, locate After Effects in your installed apps and check for available updates.
  3. 3. Download and install After Effects version 22.6.4 or later for the 22.x release line.
  4. 4. Alternatively, download and install After Effects version 23.2.0 or later for the 23.x release line.
  5. 5. Restart After Effects after the update completes.
  6. 6. Verify the installed version by opening After Effects and checking Help > About After Effects.

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

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-2023-22238 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