CVE-2024-53953
📋 TL;DR
Adobe Animate versions 23.0.8, 24.0.5 and earlier contain a use-after-free vulnerability that could allow arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious file. This affects users of Adobe Animate on any operating system where these vulnerable versions are installed.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Animate
📦 What is this software?
Animate by Adobe
Animate by Adobe
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining the same privileges as the current user, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Malware installation or data exfiltration after a user is tricked into opening a malicious Animate file.
If Mitigated
No impact if users only open trusted files from verified sources and have proper endpoint protection.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file) and knowledge of memory corruption techniques. No public exploits known at this time.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Update to Animate 23.0.9 or 24.0.6
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb24-96.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Animate. 2. Go to Help > Check for Updates. 3. Follow prompts to install updates. 4. Restart Animate after installation completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable automatic file opening
allConfigure system to not automatically open downloaded files and require explicit user action
Use application control
allRestrict execution of Animate to trusted locations only
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict user permissions to limit potential damage from code execution
- Implement email/web filtering to block malicious Animate files
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Animate version via Help > About Adobe Animate. If version is 23.0.8 or earlier, or 24.0.5 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check via Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. On macOS: Check via Applications folder > Right-click Adobe Animate > Get Info.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 23.0.9 or higher for version 23.x, or 24.0.6 or higher for version 24.x.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected Animate crashes
- Process creation from Animate with unusual command lines
- File access to suspicious locations by Animate process
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from Animate process to unknown IPs
- DNS requests for suspicious domains from Animate
SIEM Query:
process_name:"Animate.exe" AND (event_type:"process_creation" OR event_type:"crash")