Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw affects Adobe After Effects when handling a malicious TIF file. A user must open the file, but if they do, the bug could let an attacker run code as that user. The main business risk is compromise of creative workstations that receive external media assets.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority for creative, marketing, design, and media-production teams. It is not remotely exploitable by itself, but one opened file can put a workstation and accessible business data at risk.
Technical view
CVE-2021-43027 is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Adobe After Effects TIF parsing. The source states affected versions are 22.0 and earlier, and 18.4.2 and earlier. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 with local attack vector, no privileges required, and required user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on workstations running affected Adobe After Effects versions, especially teams importing TIF files or receiving project assets from clients, vendors, or public sources.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction: the victim must open a malicious file. The impact can include code execution in the current user's context.
Researcher notes
The source describes TIF parsing, CWE-125, and possible code execution despite the title referencing information disclosure. Do not assume exploit availability. Patch details are not present in the provided bundle, so remediation should be verified directly against Adobe APSB21-115.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB21-115 for the vendor-specified update or workaround.
- Update After Effects installations beyond the affected versions named in the advisory.
- Restrict opening TIF and project assets from untrusted sources until remediated.
- Apply endpoint controls to creative workstations that process external media.
- Educate users to avoid unsolicited or unexpected After Effects-related files.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints with Adobe After Effects installed.
- Confirm versions are not 22.0 or earlier, or 18.4.2 or earlier.
- Check patch management records against Adobe APSB21-115 guidance.
- Review asset-ingestion workflows for untrusted TIF file exposure.
- Confirm endpoint monitoring covers creative workstations and user-context process activity.
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-125: 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-2021-43027 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/apsb21-115.htmlCVE reference · vendor-advisory
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.