CVE-2021-28622
📋 TL;DR
Adobe Animate versions 21.0.6 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious file. Attackers can exploit this to run code with the victim's privileges, requiring user interaction through file opening. All users running vulnerable Adobe Animate versions are affected.
💻 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 victim's computer, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement within the network.
Likely Case
Malware installation leading to data exfiltration, credential theft, or system disruption when users open malicious animation files.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper security controls like application whitelisting, least privilege accounts, and network segmentation preventing lateral movement.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file). No public exploit code has been disclosed as of analysis date.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 21.0.7 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb21-50.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Animate
2. Go to Help > Check for Updates
3. Follow prompts to install version 21.0.7 or later
4. Restart Adobe Animate after installation
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict file opening
allConfigure application control policies to restrict opening of untrusted .fla or other Adobe Animate files
User awareness training
allTrain users to only open Adobe Animate files from trusted sources
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application whitelisting to block Adobe Animate execution
- Use least privilege accounts to limit impact of successful exploitation
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Adobe Animate version via Help > About Adobe Animate. If version is 21.0.6 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Animate\XX.X\InstallPath. On macOS: Check /Applications/Adobe Animate XX/Adobe Animate.app/Contents/Info.plistVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Adobe Animate version is 21.0.7 or later via Help > About Adobe Animate.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected Adobe Animate crashes
- Suspicious child processes spawned from Adobe Animate
- Unusual file access patterns from Adobe Animate process
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from Adobe Animate to suspicious IPs
- DNS requests for known malicious domains from Adobe Animate process
SIEM Query:
process_name:"Adobe Animate.exe" AND (event_id:1 OR event_id:4688) AND (command_line:"*malicious*" OR parent_process:!"explorer.exe")