CVE-2024-39381: Adobe After Effects RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2024-39381 Overview

CVE-2024-39381 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability [CWE-787] affecting Adobe After Effects versions 23.6.6, 24.5, and earlier. The flaw enables arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user when a victim opens a crafted project or media file. Exploitation requires user interaction, which limits mass exploitation but remains practical against creative professionals who routinely open third-party assets. The vulnerability affects both Windows and macOS builds of After Effects.

Critical Impact
A successful exploit yields arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running After Effects, enabling malware installation, data theft, and lateral movement from the compromised workstation.

Affected Products

Adobe After Effects 23.6.6 and earlier
Adobe After Effects 24.5 and earlier
Adobe After Effects on Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS

Discovery Timeline

2024-09-13 - CVE-2024-39381 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-06-17 - Last updated in the NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-39381

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2024-39381 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe After Effects. The application writes data past the boundary of an allocated buffer while parsing attacker-controlled file contents. Adjacent memory structures, including function pointers or object metadata, can be overwritten with attacker-supplied values.

Exploitation converts the memory corruption into control flow hijacking, allowing arbitrary code execution under the user account running After Effects. The attack vector is local and requires user interaction, meaning an attacker must convince a victim to open a malicious file. Because After Effects handles a wide range of third-party project and media formats, malicious assets can be delivered through shared project bundles, downloaded stock content, or email attachments.

Root Cause

The root cause is insufficient bounds checking during file parsing. When After Effects processes a malformed structure inside a project or media file, it calculates a destination offset or length from untrusted data without validating that the write remains inside the allocated buffer. This mirrors the classic [CWE-787] pattern of trusting length or index fields sourced from a file.

Attack Vector

The attacker crafts a malicious file targeting the vulnerable parser and delivers it through phishing, watering-hole downloads, or shared production pipelines. The victim opens the file in After Effects, triggering the out-of-bounds write. The corrupted memory redirects execution to attacker-controlled code, which then runs with the current user's privileges. No verified public exploit or proof-of-concept has been published, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

See the Adobe After Effects Security Advisory (APSB24-55) for vendor-supplied technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-39381

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by AfterFX.exe on Windows or After Effects.app on macOS, especially command interpreters such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or /bin/sh.
After Effects crash telemetry with access violation or segmentation fault signatures immediately after a user opens a third-party project file.
Suspicious project files (.aep, .aet) or media assets received from untrusted sources and opened shortly before anomalous host activity.

Detection Strategies

Hunt for process lineage where After Effects is the parent of shell, script, or network utility processes; this pattern is not expected during normal editing workflows.
Alert on outbound network connections initiated directly by the After Effects process, which typically only reaches Adobe update and licensing endpoints.
Correlate After Effects crashes with subsequent file writes to user-writable persistence locations such as %AppData%\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup or ~/Library/LaunchAgents.

Monitoring Recommendations

Inventory After Effects installations across creative endpoints and flag any host running versions at or below 23.6.6 or 24.5.
Ingest endpoint process, file, and network telemetry into a centralized data lake to enable retroactive hunts once new indicators are published.
Monitor download and email gateways for .aep, .aet, and bundled project archives arriving from external senders.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-39381

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Adobe After Effects to the versions listed in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB24-55 on all Windows and macOS endpoints.
Instruct users to only open project files and media from trusted internal sources until patching is complete.
Verify that After Effects runs as a standard user, not with local administrator privileges, to limit post-exploitation impact.

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed builds of After Effects in advisory APSB24-55. Administrators should deploy the updated versions through Adobe Creative Cloud or managed software distribution and confirm the installed version is above 23.6.6 and 24.5 on all endpoints.

Workarounds

Block inbound delivery of After Effects project files from untrusted external senders at the email gateway.
Apply application allowlisting to prevent shell and scripting interpreters from being launched as child processes of After Effects.
Enforce least-privilege user accounts and disable local administrator rights on creative workstations to reduce the blast radius of a successful exploit.

bash

# Configuration example: query installed After Effects version on Windows
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\After Effects" /s /v Version

# Query installed After Effects version on macOS
mdls -name kMDItemVersion "/Applications/Adobe After Effects 2024/Adobe After Effects 2024.app"