CVE-2026-21350 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability identified in Adobe After Effects versions 25.6 and earlier. This vulnerability arises when the application attempts to dereference a null pointer, leading to an application crash and denial-of-service (DoS) condition. The root cause is a failure in the software to properly validate pointers before use, categorized under CWE-476. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by crafting a malicious After Effects project file that, when opened by a user, triggers the null pointer dereference. This requires user interaction, as the victim must open the malicious file for the exploit to succeed. The impact is limited to availability, causing the application to crash and potentially disrupting workflows. There is no indication that confidentiality or integrity of data is compromised. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5, with attack vector local (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), user interaction required (UI:R), unchanged scope (S:U), and impact limited to availability (A:H). No patches or known exploits are currently available, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and should be addressed promptly to prevent potential exploitation.

For European organizations, particularly those in media, advertising, and creative industries relying on Adobe After Effects, this vulnerability could cause significant operational disruption. A successful exploit results in application crashes, leading to denial-of-service conditions that interrupt content creation workflows and project delivery timelines. While the vulnerability does not expose sensitive data or allow unauthorized code execution, repeated crashes could degrade productivity and increase support costs. Organizations with automated pipelines or collaborative environments may experience cascading effects if multiple users are affected. Additionally, the requirement for user interaction means phishing or social engineering could be used to deliver malicious files, increasing the risk vector. The lack of a patch means organizations must rely on interim mitigations to maintain business continuity until Adobe releases a fix.

To mitigate CVE-2026-21350, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Educate users to avoid opening After Effects project files from untrusted or unknown sources to reduce the risk of triggering the vulnerability. 2) Employ application whitelisting and sandboxing techniques to limit the impact of crashes and prevent malicious files from executing harmful actions beyond causing a crash. 3) Monitor After Effects application logs and system stability metrics to detect abnormal crashes that may indicate exploitation attempts. 4) Integrate file scanning solutions that can identify potentially malicious After Effects files before they reach end users. 5) Maintain regular backups of critical project files to enable rapid recovery from disruptions. 6) Coordinate with Adobe for timely updates and apply patches immediately upon release. 7) Consider isolating creative workstations from critical network segments to contain potential denial-of-service impacts. These targeted mitigations go beyond generic advice by focusing on user behavior, detection, and containment specific to the nature of this vulnerability.