Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-28570 affects Adobe After Effects 18.1 and earlier. With user interaction, an unauthenticated attacker could abuse unsafe search-path behavior to run attacker-planted binaries with System permissions, creating serious confidentiality, integrity, and availability risk.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority workstation remediation item, especially for teams handling outside creative files. It is not cited as actively exploited, but System-level code execution makes delay risky.
Technical view
This is a CWE-427 uncontrolled search path element issue in Adobe After Effects. The CVSS 3.1 score is 8.3 with network attack vector, no privileges required, user interaction required, high attack complexity, changed scope, and high CIA impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to environments with Adobe After Effects 18.1 or earlier installed. Creative workstations processing external assets or collaborating with untrusted sources are the most relevant population.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction and attacker ability to plant custom binaries in a searched location.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strong for vulnerability type, affected version threshold, CVSS, and interaction requirement. The bundle does not include CPEs, detailed patch version data, or exploitation telemetry, so remediation should follow Adobe APSB21-33.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Adobe After Effects installations and identify version 18.1 or earlier.
- Review Adobe APSB21-33 and apply the vendor-recommended update or remediation.
- Prioritize creative workstations that handle external or partner-supplied project material.
- Use endpoint controls to limit execution from user-writable or unexpected paths.
- Check vendor guidance before relying on compensating controls alone.
Validation and detection
- Confirm no managed endpoint runs After Effects 18.1 or earlier.
- Verify Adobe APSB21-33 remediation is applied where After Effects is installed.
- Review software inventory for unmanaged creative workstations.
- Check EDR for suspicious After Effects-related binary execution or child processes.
- Document exceptions with owner, business need, and target remediation date.
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-2021-28570 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
- 8.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/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:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H1.66Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.3HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/ee/security/products/after_effects/apsb21-33.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.