Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-40754 is a high-severity Adobe After Effects flaw where opening a malicious WAV file could let code run as the current user. The business risk is highest for creative, marketing, and production teams that open externally supplied media files.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for creative workstations that handle third-party media. This is not described as remotely exploitable over the network, but a single opened file could compromise a user workstation and disrupt production workflows.
Technical view
Adobe After Effects 18.4.1 and earlier are reported affected by memory corruption from insecure handling of a malicious WAV file. CVSS 3.0 is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, and required user interaction. Successful exploitation may affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely where Adobe After Effects 18.4.1 or earlier is installed, especially on workstations receiving WAV or project assets from clients, vendors, or public submissions. Server exposure is not indicated by the supplied sources.
Exploitation context
The supplied sources require user interaction: a victim must open a specially crafted WAV file. The bundle does not identify public exploit availability or active exploitation, and it is not listed as CISA KEV in the provided data.
Researcher notes
The key constraint is user-assisted file parsing, not a network service path. Confirm exact fixed builds from Adobe APSB21-79 before closure. The supplied data maps the weakness to CWE-788 and does not provide exploit evidence or detailed root-cause internals.
Mitigation direction
- Update Adobe After Effects according to Adobe APSB21-79 guidance.
- Remove or isolate After Effects 18.4.1 and earlier where updates cannot be applied.
- Restrict opening WAV files from untrusted external sources.
- Use least-privilege user accounts on media workstations.
- Check Adobe guidance for fixed versions and deployment details.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints for Adobe After Effects 18.4.1 and earlier.
- Confirm installed versions against Adobe APSB21-79 remediation guidance.
- Identify users who process externally supplied WAV or After Effects assets.
- Review endpoint controls for untrusted file handling on creative workstations.
- Document compensating controls if immediate update is not possible.
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-788: 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-2021-40754 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/after_effects/apsb21-79.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.
Access of Memory Location After End of Buffer
Access of Memory Location After End of Buffer represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.