CVE-2026-21321VulnerabilityPublished 10 Feb 2026Updated 27 Aug 2026

CVE-2026-21321: Adobe After Effects · Integer Overflow or Wraparound

Affects Adobe After EffectsSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 15% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 10 Feb 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
AdobeAfter Effects	Affected <=25.6	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-21321, organizations should implement a multi-layered approach: 1) Monitor Adobe's official channels for patches and apply updates immediately once available to remediate the vulnerability. 2) Until patches are released, restrict the opening of After Effects project files to trusted sources only, employing strict file validation and sandboxing where possible. 3) Educate users about the risks of opening files from untrusted or unknown origins to reduce the likelihood of successful social engineering. 4) Employ application whitelisting and endpoint protection solutions that can detect and block suspicious behaviors associated with exploitation attempts. 5) Use network segmentation to limit the spread of potential infections originating from compromised workstations. 6) Implement strict access controls to minimize user privileges, reducing the impact of code execution under limited accounts. 7) Monitor logs and network traffic for unusual activity indicative of exploitation attempts. 8) Consider deploying file integrity monitoring on critical project directories to detect unauthorized changes. These measures, combined with timely patching, will reduce the risk posed by this vulnerability.

Description

After Effects versions 25.6 and earlier are affected by an Integer Overflow or Wraparound vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

Impact

The potential impact of CVE-2026-21321 is significant for organizations relying on Adobe After Effects for content creation and media production. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution, allowing attackers to install malware, steal sensitive project files, or disrupt workflows. Since the code executes with the current user's privileges, the impact depends on the user's access level; administrative users could face full system compromise. The vulnerability affects confidentiality by exposing proprietary creative content, integrity by allowing unauthorized modification of files, and availability by potentially crashing or disabling After Effects. Although exploitation requires user interaction, phishing or social engineering campaigns could trick users into opening malicious files. This risk is heightened in collaborative environments where files are frequently exchanged. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk, but the public disclosure increases the likelihood of future exploitation attempts. Organizations could face operational disruptions, reputational damage, and financial losses if exploited. The threat is particularly relevant for creative agencies, film studios, advertising firms, and any enterprise using After Effects extensively.

CWE-190Integer Overflow or Wraparound (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Medium
The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This occurs when an integer value is incremented to a value that is too large to store in the associated representation. When this occurs, the value may become a very small or negative number.
Requirements
Ensure that all protocols are strictly defined, such that all out-of-bounds behavior can be identified simply, and require strict conformance to the protocol.
Requirements · Language Selection
Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.4.3 (opens in a new tab)
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Forced Integer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

helpx.adobe.com/security/products/after_effects/apsb26-15.html (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 08:29 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-190

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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