Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-28617 affects Adobe Animate 21.0.6 and earlier. A malicious file could make Animate read memory it should not, potentially exposing sensitive information from the current user’s session. The attacker must persuade someone to open the file, so exposure is mainly on workstations handling untrusted creative files.
Executive priority
Treat as a targeted workstation confidentiality risk, not a broad infrastructure emergency. Patch affected creative systems promptly, especially where staff open external files.
Technical view
This is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Adobe Animate file parsing. CVSS 3.0 is 5.5: local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, user interaction required, unchanged scope, high confidentiality impact, and no integrity or availability impact.
Likely exposure
Organizations are exposed where Adobe Animate 21.0.6 or earlier remains installed, especially on creative endpoints that receive files from clients, vendors, downloads, or email attachments.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted file, with disclosure limited to memory in the current user context.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports an out-of-bounds read during crafted-file parsing, with confidentiality impact only. The bundle names affected versions but does not provide exploit details, exploitation-in-the-wild evidence, or a specific fixed version.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Adobe Animate installations and flag version 21.0.6 or earlier.
- Review Adobe APSB21-50 and apply the vendor-recommended Animate security update.
- Restrict opening unsolicited Animate or project files until patched.
- Use endpoint controls to quarantine suspicious creative files from untrusted sources.
- Prioritize patching workstations that handle external client or vendor files.
Validation and detection
- Confirm Adobe Animate versions on managed endpoints.
- Verify patched systems are no longer running 21.0.6 or earlier.
- Check software inventory for unmanaged creative workstations.
- Review email and web controls for untrusted file handling.
- Confirm users handling external media have current file-opening guidance.
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
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CWE-125: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-28617 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
- 5.5 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N1.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb21-50.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.