Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Adobe After Effects 18.4.1 and earlier can be compromised if a user opens a malicious MXF video file. Successful exploitation could run attacker-controlled code with the user’s privileges, affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability on that workstation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority workstation risk for teams handling external video assets. It is not described as remotely exploitable without user action, but compromise could give attackers code execution on creative workstations.
Technical view
CVE-2021-40757 is a CWE-788 memory corruption flaw in After Effects MXF file parsing. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8: local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, user interaction required, unchanged scope, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is mainly creative, video, and marketing workstations running Adobe After Effects 18.4.1 or earlier, especially where users open externally supplied MXF media files.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires persuading a user to open a specially crafted MXF file, after which code may execute as that user.
Researcher notes
The source bundle names After Effects 18.4.1 and earlier but does not include CPEs or detailed fixed-version data. Validation should focus on product inventory, version state, and Adobe advisory alignment rather than assumed mitigations.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB21-79 and apply the vendor-recommended After Effects security update.
- Prioritize systems running After Effects 18.4.1 or earlier.
- Limit opening MXF files from untrusted or unsolicited sources.
- Use least-privilege user accounts on creative workstations.
- Ensure endpoint protection monitors media-file handling processes.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints with Adobe After Effects installed.
- Identify any installations at version 18.4.1 or earlier.
- Confirm Adobe APSB21-79 remediation has been applied.
- Review media intake workflows for untrusted MXF files.
- Check endpoint telemetry for suspicious After Effects crashes or child processes.
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-2021-40757 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 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/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:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/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.