CVE-2025-30329 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability (CWE-476) affecting Adobe Animate versions 24.0.8, 23.0.11, and earlier. This vulnerability arises when the application attempts to dereference a pointer that has not been properly initialized or has been set to NULL, leading to an application crash. The exploitation requires user interaction, specifically the victim opening a crafted malicious Animate file. Successful exploitation results in a denial-of-service (DoS) condition, causing the application to terminate unexpectedly and disrupting the user's workflow. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity but solely affects availability. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5 (medium severity), with vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, indicating local attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, unchanged scope, and high impact on availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability is relevant to users of Adobe Animate, a multimedia authoring and computer animation program widely used in creative industries for producing interactive content and animations.

For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability is operational disruption. Creative agencies, media companies, educational institutions, and any enterprises relying on Adobe Animate for content creation could experience workflow interruptions if attackers deliver malicious files to users, causing application crashes. While the vulnerability does not lead to data breaches or system compromise, repeated crashes could degrade productivity and potentially delay project timelines. In environments where Adobe Animate is integrated into automated pipelines or collaborative workflows, denial-of-service conditions could have cascading effects. Additionally, targeted attacks exploiting this vulnerability could be used as a distraction or to cause reputational damage. However, since exploitation requires user interaction and local access to open malicious files, the risk is somewhat mitigated by user awareness and secure file handling practices.

Organizations should implement the following specific mitigations: 1) Educate users, especially creative teams, about the risks of opening files from untrusted or unknown sources, emphasizing caution with unsolicited Animate files. 2) Employ application whitelisting and sandboxing techniques to restrict Adobe Animate's access to only trusted files and directories, limiting exposure to malicious inputs. 3) Monitor and restrict file sharing channels (email, collaboration platforms) to detect and block suspicious Animate files. 4) Maintain up-to-date backups of critical project files to minimize disruption from application crashes. 5) Implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to identify abnormal application terminations and investigate potential exploitation attempts. 6) Stay vigilant for official Adobe patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 7) Consider using file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized or suspicious modifications to Animate project files. These targeted measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on user behavior, file handling policies, and proactive detection tailored to the nature of this vulnerability.