Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Adobe Animate 21.0 and earlier can be abused through a malicious file to run code as the person who opens it. This is mainly an endpoint risk for teams that use Animate or open external Animate content. The bundle does not show known active exploitation.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation on creative and content-handling endpoints. This is not described as internet-exposed or actively exploited, but it can become a business-impacting compromise if users open malicious project files.
Technical view
CVE-2021-21008 is a CWE-427 uncontrolled search path element issue in Adobe Animate 21.0 and earlier. Exploitation requires user interaction and could lead to arbitrary code execution in the current user context. CVSS 3.1 score is 7.0 with local attack vector and high complexity.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to systems with Adobe Animate 21.0 or earlier installed, especially creative workstations handling files from clients, partners, or public sources. No server-side or remote unauthenticated exposure is indicated in the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The CVE requires a victim to open a malicious file. The source bundle marks CISA KEV as false and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. Impact is still serious because successful exploitation can affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability for the current user.
Researcher notes
The evidence supports high severity, user-assisted local exploitation, and current-user code execution. The provided bundle does not name a fixed version or detailed mitigation beyond Adobe’s advisory, so validation should anchor on vendor guidance and asset inventory.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory endpoints for Adobe Animate 21.0 or earlier.
- Apply the update or remediation directed by Adobe APSB21-03.
- Remove Adobe Animate where it is no longer needed.
- Limit opening Animate files from untrusted sources.
- Use endpoint controls for suspicious execution from user workstations.
Validation and detection
- Confirm no managed endpoint runs Adobe Animate 21.0 or earlier.
- Verify Adobe APSB21-03 remediation status in patch records.
- Review creative-team workstations first due to likely file exposure.
- Check endpoint telemetry for unusual activity after Animate file opens.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-427: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-21008 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H15.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb21-03.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Uncontrolled Search Path Element
Uncontrolled Search Path Element represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.