Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Adobe After Effects 18.2 and earlier can mishandle a maliciously crafted file. If a user opens that file, the attacker could read sensitive memory information or crash the application. This is not remotely exploitable without user interaction, but it matters for teams that handle files from outside parties.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted workstation risk, not an internet-exposed emergency. Prioritize affected creative systems because successful exploitation could expose memory data and disrupt work when users open malicious files.
Technical view
CVE-2021-28611 is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Adobe After Effects file parsing. CVSS 3.1 is 6.1 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, required user interaction, high confidentiality impact, and low availability impact. The provided sources do not identify integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on workstations running Adobe After Effects 18.2 or earlier, especially creative, marketing, video, or contractor-facing teams that open externally supplied files.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation requires convincing a victim to open a malicious file, then runs in the context of the current user.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to CVE metadata and Adobe advisory reference. The bundle states affected version 18.2 and earlier, user interaction, memory disclosure, and denial of service. It does not provide exploit details, observed exploitation, or exact fixed versions.
Mitigation direction
- Check Adobe APSB21-49 for the vendor-approved update or mitigation path.
- Prioritize updating systems running Adobe After Effects 18.2 or earlier.
- Restrict opening untrusted After Effects-related files from external sources.
- Use standard endpoint controls to quarantine suspicious creative-file attachments.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints for installed Adobe After Effects versions.
- Flag any Adobe After Effects installation at version 18.2 or earlier.
- Confirm remediation status against Adobe APSB21-49 guidance.
- Review teams that routinely receive creative files from external parties.
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-125: 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 lookupCVE-2021-28611 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L
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:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L1.84.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.1MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb21-49.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.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.