CVE-2020-3765
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2020-3765 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe After Effects that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. Users running Adobe After Effects versions 16.1.2 and earlier are vulnerable to this critical security flaw. Successful exploitation could give attackers complete control over the affected system.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe After Effects
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control, installing malware, stealing data, and using the system as a foothold for lateral movement.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation leading to malware installation, data theft, or ransomware deployment on the affected workstation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation, application whitelisting, and user privilege restrictions preventing successful exploitation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction such as opening a malicious project file. No public exploit code was available at the time of disclosure.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 16.1.3 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb20-09.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application. 2. Navigate to the 'Apps' tab. 3. Find Adobe After Effects and click 'Update'. 4. Alternatively, download the update directly from Adobe's website. 5. Install the update and restart the application.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict project file execution
allBlock execution of After Effects project files from untrusted sources
Application control policies
allImplement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized After Effects execution
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate affected systems from critical network segments and limit user privileges
- Implement strict email filtering and web content filtering to block malicious project files
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Adobe After Effects version via Help > About After Effects menuCheck Version:
On Windows: Check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\After Effects\XX.X\Version. On macOS: Check /Applications/Adobe After Effects XX.X/Adobe After Effects.app/Contents/Info.plistVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 16.1.3 or later in Help > About After Effects📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes with memory access violations
- Unexpected process creation from After Effects
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from After Effects process
SIEM Query:
Process creation where parent_process_name contains 'After Effects' AND (process_name contains 'cmd.exe' OR process_name contains 'powershell.exe' OR process_name contains 'sh' OR process_name contains 'bash')