Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-44190 affects Adobe After Effects when a user opens a malicious file. It can expose limited sensitive memory and may help bypass protections such as ASLR, but the source data rates it low severity and requires user interaction.
Executive priority
Treat this as routine but real desktop risk. It is not currently sourced as actively exploited, but organizations with media-production teams should patch through normal endpoint maintenance and reduce untrusted-file handling.
Technical view
This is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Adobe After Effects MP4 file parsing. Affected versions are 22.0 and earlier, and 18.4.2 and earlier. CVSS 3.1 is 3.3 with local attack vector, no privileges required, user interaction required, and low confidentiality impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is mainly creative workstations running affected Adobe After Effects versions, especially users who open MP4 or project media from external parties, email, shared drives, or client submissions.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires the victim to open a malicious file. The disclosed impact is sensitive memory exposure that could support mitigation bypass, not direct code execution.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE data and Adobe advisory reference. The bundle identifies affected version ranges but does not provide exploit details or exact fixed versions. Validate remediation against Adobe APSB21-115 rather than inferring fixes.
Mitigation direction
- Identify Adobe After Effects installations and versions across managed endpoints.
- Check Adobe APSB21-115 for the vendor-supported update or remediation path.
- Prioritize updates for users handling untrusted client or internet-sourced media.
- Limit opening unsolicited media files in After Effects until remediated.
- Use normal endpoint controls to flag suspicious downloaded or emailed media.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether installed After Effects versions are 22.0 or earlier, or 18.4.2 or earlier.
- Compare deployed versions against Adobe APSB21-115 guidance.
- Review exposure of teams that process third-party MP4 or project media.
- Check whether file-opening controls and user guidance cover untrusted media.
- Document patch status and any compensating controls for affected workstations.
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
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-44190 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/apsb21-115.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.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.