Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-28620 is a high-severity Adobe Animate flaw. A malicious file could make Animate run attacker-controlled code as the person who opened it. Business risk is highest where users receive or open untrusted creative files.
Executive priority
Treat as a prioritized workstation remediation item, especially for creative teams. It is serious but requires user interaction, so urgency depends on Animate deployment and file-handling exposure.
Technical view
The issue is a heap-based buffer overflow, CWE-122, affecting Adobe Animate 21.0.6 and earlier. CVSS 3.0 is 7.8 with local attack vector, no privileges required, user interaction required, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to systems with Adobe Animate 21.0.6 or earlier installed. The source bundle provides no CPEs and no broader affected product list.
Exploitation context
Exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious file. The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or any cited evidence of active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports arbitrary code execution in the current user context through a malicious file. The bundle does not provide exploit details, patch version specifics, or proof of exploitation in the wild.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB21-50 and update Animate according to vendor guidance.
- Remove or restrict Adobe Animate where business use is not required.
- Limit handling of untrusted Animate files from email, chat, or downloads.
- Use least-privilege user accounts to reduce post-compromise impact.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints for Adobe Animate installations and versions.
- Flag Animate 21.0.6 and earlier as affected based on the bundle.
- Confirm update status against Adobe APSB21-50 guidance.
- Review security telemetry for suspicious Animate file handling or crashes.
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-122: 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-2021-28620 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
- 7.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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/apsb21-50.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.
Heap-based Buffer Overflow
Heap-based Buffer Overflow represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.