CVE-2023-48632
📋 TL;DR
Adobe After Effects has an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code when a user opens a malicious file. This affects users running After Effects versions 24.0.3 and earlier or 23.6.0 and earlier. Successful exploitation requires user interaction but could lead to full system compromise.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe After Effects
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system takeover with attacker gaining the same privileges as the current user, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation leading to data exfiltration, credential harvesting, or installation of additional malware payloads.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper application sandboxing and user privilege restrictions, potentially only affecting the After Effects process.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file). No public exploit code available at time of analysis.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 24.1 and 23.6.1
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb23-75.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application. 2. Navigate to 'Apps' section. 3. Find After Effects and click 'Update'. 4. Install version 24.1 or 23.6.1. 5. Restart computer after installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict file opening
allPrevent users from opening untrusted After Effects project files
Application control
windowsUse application whitelisting to restrict execution of After Effects to trusted locations only
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict user privilege restrictions (run After Effects with limited user accounts)
- Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious file opening behavior
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check After Effects version via Help > About After Effects menu. If version is 24.0.3 or earlier, or 23.6.0 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\After Effects\[Version]\ProductVersion. On macOS: Check /Applications/Adobe After Effects [Version]/Adobe After Effects.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleShortVersionStringVerify Fix Applied:
Verify After Effects version is 24.1 or higher, or 23.6.1 or higher after patching.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual process creation from After Effects executable
- Multiple failed file parsing attempts in application logs
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected outbound connections from After Effects process
- DNS requests to suspicious domains after file opening
SIEM Query:
Process Creation where Image contains 'AfterFX' AND ParentImage contains 'explorer.exe' AND CommandLine contains '.aep'