Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Adobe Animate could be compromised if a user opens a malicious GIF file. Successful exploitation may let an attacker run code with that user’s permissions. The issue affects Adobe Animate 21.0.9 and earlier, according to the provided CVE description.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority endpoint remediation item for creative or design teams using Adobe Animate. The issue is not presented as wormable, but a single opened file could compromise a user workstation.
Technical view
CVE-2021-42272 is a CWE-787 out-of-bounds write in Adobe Animate GIF parsing. It has CVSS 3.0 score 7.8, local attack vector, no privileges required, and required user interaction. Impact is high for confidentiality, integrity, and availability because code may execute as the current user.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to endpoints with Adobe Animate 21.0.9 or earlier, especially users who receive or open GIF files from external or untrusted sources in Animate.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction: the victim must open a malicious GIF file. No exploit maturity details are provided in the bundle.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE data and Adobe advisory reference. The affected version is stated as Adobe Animate 21.0.9 and earlier. The bundle does not provide fixed version details, exploit samples, or proof of exploitation.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Adobe Animate installations and identify versions 21.0.9 or earlier.
- Review Adobe APSB21-105 and apply the vendor-specified Animate security update.
- Restrict opening untrusted GIF files in Animate until remediation is confirmed.
- Remove or isolate obsolete Animate installations that cannot be updated.
- Run Animate under least-privileged user accounts where feasible.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed Adobe Animate versions across managed endpoints.
- Verify remediation status against Adobe APSB21-105 guidance.
- Check software inventory for remaining Animate 21.0.9 or earlier installations.
- Review helpdesk or EDR telemetry for suspicious GIF-related Animate crashes.
- Document compensating controls for any systems that remain unpatched.
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-787: 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-2021-42272 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/apsb21-105.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 Write
Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.