CVE-2026-21328
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 · uneditedAfter Effects versions 25.6 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 confidenceAfter Effects versions 25.6 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that allows memory corruption. Successful exploitation enables arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, but requires the victim to open a specially crafted malicious 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< 25.6.4CVSS 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 installed After Effects versionOpen Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app, go to the Apps tab, find After Effects in the list, and note the version number shown. Alternatively, open After Effects and go to Help > About After Effects to see the full version string.Affected if The displayed version is lower than 25.6.4 (for example, 25.6, 25.5, 25.0, or any earlier version)
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Confirm After Effects is presentVerify Adobe After Effects is installed on the system by checking for the application in the Start Menu, Applications folder, or by searching for 'After Effects' in the system.Affected if After Effects is installed and the version cannot be verified or is confirmed to be below 25.6.4
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Verify vulnerability trigger conditionThis vulnerability requires a specially crafted malicious file to be opened by the user. Check whether After Effects has been used to open files from untrusted or unknown sources.Affected if After Effects version is below 25.6.4 AND the user has opened or may open files from untrusted sources
You are affected if Adobe After Effects version is below 25.6.4 and you open a malicious crafted file with the application.
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 · scoped25.6.4
Update After Effects to a version newer than 25.6 when the vendor patch is available, and avoid opening files from untrusted sources.
25.6.4 or later
- Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or visit adobe.com/account
- Navigate to the Apps section and locate Adobe After Effects
- Click on Update or Install next to After Effects
- Ensure the installed version is 25.6.4 or later
- Alternatively, download the latest version directly from helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/release-notes.html
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-2026-21328 — 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-2026-21328 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