CVE-2021-21008
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2021-21008 is a path traversal vulnerability in Adobe Animate that allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious file. Attackers can exploit uncontrolled search path elements to execute malicious code with the current user's privileges. This affects Adobe Animate version 21.0 and earlier installations.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Animate
📦 What is this software?
Animate by Adobe
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control of the user's system, data theft, ransomware deployment, and lateral movement within the network.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation leading to malware installation, credential theft, and persistence mechanisms being established on the compromised system.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with only user-level access if proper application sandboxing and least privilege principles are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file) and knowledge of local file system paths. No public exploit code available.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 21.0.1 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb21-03.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Animate. 2. Go to Help > Updates. 3. Install available updates to version 21.0.1 or later. 4. Restart Adobe Animate after installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict file execution from untrusted locations
allConfigure Windows/MacOS to prevent execution of files from temporary directories and untrusted network locations
Windows: Use AppLocker or Software Restriction Policies
macOS: Configure Gatekeeper and XProtect
User education and file validation
allTrain users to only open Animate files from trusted sources and validate file integrity
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized executables from running
- Use network segmentation to isolate systems running vulnerable versions from critical assets
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Adobe Animate version via Help > About Adobe Animate. If version is 21.0 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Windows: Check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Animate\XX.0\InstallPath. macOS: Check /Applications/Adobe Animate XX/Adobe Animate.app/Contents/Info.plistVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 21.0.1 or later in Help > About Adobe Animate. Test with known safe files to ensure functionality.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual process creation from Adobe Animate executable
- File access attempts to unusual directories by Animate process
- Security software alerts about Animate behavior
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from Animate to unknown IPs
- DNS requests for suspicious domains from Animate process
SIEM Query:
Process Creation where Parent Process Name contains 'Animate' AND Process Name not in (approved_executables_list)