CVE-2021-28601

Application crash via crafted-file null dereference

Published Aug 24, 2021 · Updated Apr 23, 2025

Null pointer dereference in Adobe After Effects 18.2 and earlier allows attackers to crash the application through a crafted file. Adobe discloses only that file parsing dereferences a null pointer; no affected format or parsing routine is named. Exploitation requires a user to open the malicious file, and the resulting interruption is confined to After Effects running as that user.

CVSS severity3.3
Low
EPSS probability1.37%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Null pointer dereference in Adobe After Effects 18.2 and earlier allows attackers to crash the application through a crafted file. Adobe discloses only that file parsing dereferences a null pointer; no affected format or parsing routine is named. Exploitation requires a user to open the malicious file, and the resulting interruption is confined to After Effects running as that user.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-28601
Published
Aug 24, 2021
Updated
Apr 23, 2025
Vendor
Adobe
Product
After Effects
Classifications
CWE-476, T1204.002
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 24, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 23, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <=18.2
  2. Affected versionversion=unspecified <=None

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Adobe · After Effectsversion=unspecified <=18.2; version=unspecified <=None

Published CVSS scores

3.3AdobeCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1204.002User Execution: Malicious File

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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