Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-35995 is a low-severity Adobe After Effects issue. A malicious media file could cause After Effects to disclose limited memory information from the user’s session. It is not remotely exploitable by itself; a user must open a crafted file.
Executive priority
Treat this as routine patch management unless high-risk teams regularly handle untrusted media. The business risk is limited information disclosure, not system takeover, but creative workstations should still be updated.
Technical view
Adobe After Effects 18.2.1 and earlier are affected by an improper input validation issue during crafted file parsing, described as MP4-related uninitialized variable information disclosure. CVSS 3.1 is 3.3: local attack vector, no privileges, user interaction required, low confidentiality impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to endpoints running Adobe After Effects 18.2.1 or earlier, especially creative workstations that open externally supplied media files.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Exploitation requires social engineering or another delivery path that convinces a user to open a malicious file.
Researcher notes
The available sources identify CWE-20 and confidentiality-only impact. They do not provide exploit details, indicators of compromise, or a named fixed version in the supplied bundle. Avoid assuming broader Adobe product exposure.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe advisory APSB21-54 for the vendor-approved update path.
- Update affected Adobe After Effects installations according to Adobe guidance.
- Limit opening unsolicited or untrusted media files on creative workstations.
- Use endpoint controls to quarantine suspicious externally supplied project or media files.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Adobe After Effects installations and record installed versions.
- Identify systems running After Effects 18.2.1 or earlier.
- Confirm patch status against Adobe APSB21-54 guidance.
- Review security controls for handling externally supplied media files.
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-20: 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-2021-35995 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
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/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:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N1.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
3.3LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb21-54.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.