CVE-2023-29321
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 versions 22.0.9 (and earlier) and 23.0.1 (and earlier) are affected by a Use After Free 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 confidenceAdobe Animate versions 22.0.9 and earlier and 23.0.1 and earlier contain a Use After Free vulnerability. An attacker can craft a malicious file that, when opened by a victim, causes memory to be accessed after being freed, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user's privileges.
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<= 22.0.9= 23.0.0= 23.0.1CVSS 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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Check Adobe Animate version on WindowsOpen Windows Registry Editor (regedit) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Animate or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Animate. Look for a Version or InstanceName value that indicates the installed version number.Affected if The version displayed is 22.0.9 or lower, or is exactly 23.0.0 or 23.0.1
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Check Adobe Animate version on macOSOpen Finder, navigate to Applications, right-click Adobe Animate, select Get Info, and note the version number shown under the name field.Affected if The version displayed is 22.0.9 or lower, or is exactly 23.0.0 or 23.0.1
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Check version from within the applicationLaunch Adobe Animate and go to Help > About Adobe Animate. The version number will be displayed in the about dialog window.Affected if The version shown is 22.0.9 or lower, or is exactly 23.0.0 or 23.0.1
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Identify file handling exposureReview which .fla files users in your environment typically open. Determine if users open .fla files from external or untrusted sources, as this is the attack vector for this vulnerability.Affected if Users routinely open .fla files from untrusted or unsolicited sources without verification
You are affected if Adobe Animate version is 22.0.9 or earlier, or is exactly 23.0.0 or 23.0.1 AND users in your environment open .fla files, particularly from untrusted sources.
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 Adobe Animate to the latest patched version. Until patched, instruct users not to open untrusted or unsolicited .fla or Animate files from untrusted sources.
Adobe Animate 23.0.2 or later
- Close Adobe Animate if currently running
- Navigate to the official Adobe Animate download page at adobe.com
- Download Adobe Animate version 23.0.2 or later
- Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
- Launch Adobe Animate and verify the installed version matches 23.0.2 or higher by checking Help > About Adobe Animate
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2023-29321 — 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-2023-29321 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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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.
- 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