CVE-2021-28630 in Animate
Summary
by MITRE • 08/25/2021
Adobe Animate version 21.0.6 (and earlier) is affected by an Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to disclose potential sensitive information in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/03/2025
Adobe Animate version 21.0.6 and earlier contains a critical out-of-bounds read vulnerability that stems from insufficient input validation during file parsing operations. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 weakness category, which specifically addresses out-of-bounds read conditions where an application attempts to read memory locations beyond the allocated buffer boundaries. The flaw manifests when the software processes specially crafted files that contain malformed data structures, causing the application to access memory regions that were not properly validated or constrained. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates without authentication requirements, meaning an attacker can exploit it remotely without needing to establish prior access to the target system. The attack vector requires user interaction, as victims must open the malicious file within Adobe Animate for exploitation to occur, making this a typical social engineering target that leverages user trust in legitimate software applications.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the parsing logic within Adobe Animate's file handling mechanisms failing to properly validate array indices or buffer limits when processing specific file formats. When a malicious file is opened, the application's memory management routines attempt to read data beyond the intended boundaries of allocated memory segments, potentially exposing sensitive information stored in adjacent memory locations. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which covers script-based execution through the use of vulnerable applications, and represents a classic example of memory corruption that can lead to information disclosure or potentially more severe exploits depending on the memory contents accessed. The out-of-bounds read condition creates an information disclosure risk where attackers might gain access to stack contents, heap data, or other sensitive information that was previously stored in the memory regions adjacent to the corrupted buffer.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it represents a significant risk to user privacy and system security. Attackers could potentially exploit this weakness to extract sensitive data such as encryption keys, user credentials, or other confidential information that might be stored in memory areas adjacent to the vulnerable code paths. The requirement for user interaction makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous in targeted attack scenarios where attackers can craft convincing social engineering campaigns to convince victims to open malicious files. The vulnerability demonstrates poor defensive programming practices and highlights the importance of implementing robust input validation and memory boundary checking mechanisms. Organizations using Adobe Animate should be particularly concerned about this vulnerability as it could serve as a stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks, especially when combined with other exploitation techniques that might be available in the same attack surface.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patch deployment through Adobe's official security updates, as well as implementing additional security controls such as application whitelisting and file extension filtering. Organizations should consider restricting user privileges when opening files and implementing sandboxing mechanisms to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. Security monitoring should include detection of unusual file access patterns and the identification of potentially malicious files being opened within the application environment. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify similar weaknesses in other applications and systems within the enterprise environment. Given that this is a file parsing vulnerability, implementing strict file validation and content inspection mechanisms at network perimeters can provide additional layers of defense against exploitation attempts.