CVE-2025-54279
📋 TL;DR
Adobe Animate versions 23.0.13, 24.0.10 and earlier contain a use-after-free vulnerability that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on a victim's system. This affects users who open malicious Animate files, requiring user interaction but no special privileges.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Animate
📦 What is this software?
Animate by Adobe
Animate by Adobe
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full 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
Limited code execution in user context leading to credential theft, data exfiltration, or installation of secondary malware payloads.
If Mitigated
No impact if users don't open untrusted Animate files and proper application whitelisting is enforced.
🎯 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: 23.0.14 and 24.0.11
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/animate/apsb25-97.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 Animate files from untrusted sources
Application whitelisting
allRestrict execution of Animate to trusted locations only
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict file handling policies to prevent opening untrusted Animate files
- Use application control solutions to restrict Animate execution to trusted workflows only
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Animate version via Help > About Adobe Animate. If version is 23.0.13 or earlier, or 24.0.10 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Animate\XX.0\Version (where XX is 23 or 24)Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 23.0.14 or higher for version 23, or 24.0.11 or higher for version 24.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Animate crash logs with memory access violations
- Unexpected child processes spawned from Animate.exe
Network Indicators:
- Animate.exe making unexpected outbound connections after file open
SIEM Query:
process_name:"Animate.exe" AND (event_type:"process_creation" OR event_type:"crash")