CVE-2026-21326: Adobe After Effects · Use After Free
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
- EPSS
- 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 17% 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:HExploitation 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.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| AdobeAfter Effects | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Until Adobe releases an official patch, organizations should implement several specific mitigations: 1) Restrict the opening of After Effects project files to trusted sources only, employing strict email and file transfer filtering to block suspicious or unsolicited files. 2) Educate users on the risks of opening files from unknown or untrusted origins, emphasizing caution with After Effects files. 3) Apply the principle of least privilege by ensuring users run After Effects with minimal necessary permissions to limit the impact of code execution. 4) Use application control or whitelisting solutions to prevent unauthorized code execution stemming from After Effects processes. 5) Monitor endpoint and network activity for unusual behavior indicative of exploitation attempts, such as unexpected process spawning or network connections. 6) Maintain up-to-date backups of critical project files to enable recovery in case of compromise. 7) Prepare to deploy patches promptly once Adobe releases them, and test updates in controlled environments before widespread rollout. 8) Consider isolating systems running After Effects from sensitive networks to reduce lateral movement risk.
Description
After Effects versions 25.6 and earlier are affected by a Use After Free 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.