CVE-2024-49526: Adobe Animate RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2024-49526 Overview

CVE-2024-49526 is a Use After Free vulnerability [CWE-416] affecting Adobe Animate versions 23.0.7, 24.0.4, and earlier. Successful exploitation results in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The attack vector is local and requires user interaction, meaning a victim must open a malicious file crafted by an attacker. Adobe published the security advisory APSB24-76 addressing this issue along with related vulnerabilities in Animate.

Critical Impact
Attackers can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the logged-in user by delivering a crafted Animate project file, potentially leading to full workstation compromise.

Affected Products

Adobe Animate 23.0.7 and earlier
Adobe Animate 24.0.4 and earlier
Windows and macOS installations of the affected Animate versions

Discovery Timeline

2024-11-12 - CVE-2024-49526 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-49526

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a Use After Free flaw within Adobe Animate's file parsing logic. Animate frees a memory object during processing of a malformed project file, then continues to reference the freed pointer. An attacker who controls the freed region can steer program execution toward attacker-supplied data. The result is arbitrary code execution in the security context of the user running Animate.

Because the flaw requires a victim to open a malicious file, adversaries typically pair the exploit with social engineering. Phishing emails carrying weaponized .fla or related Animate assets are the most likely delivery method. Successful exploitation does not require elevated privileges on the target host.

Root Cause

The root cause is dangling pointer usage after an object referenced during file parsing has been released. Adobe's advisory APSB24-76 documents the fix without disclosing implementation specifics. Use After Free conditions in native desktop applications commonly arise from mismatched object lifetime tracking between parsers and rendering subsystems.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires local file access and user interaction. The attacker crafts a malicious Animate file and delivers it through email, shared drives, or web downloads. When the victim opens the file, Animate parses the malformed structures and triggers the Use After Free condition. See the Adobe Security Advisory APSB24-76 for vendor-provided details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-49526

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by Animate.exe such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or rundll32.exe
Animate process crashes or exception events immediately after opening a project file received from external sources
Outbound network connections from the Animate process to unknown or non-Adobe destinations
Newly written executables or scripts in user-writable directories following an Animate session

Detection Strategies

Hunt for Animate process anomalies including access violations, heap corruption events, and unusual module loads
Correlate email or download telemetry showing Animate file types (.fla, .xfl, .as) originating from untrusted senders
Alert on Animate creating persistence artifacts in Run registry keys, scheduled tasks, or startup folders

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable command-line and process-tree logging on endpoints running Adobe Animate to catch post-exploitation activity
Forward endpoint telemetry to a centralized analytics platform for cross-host correlation of Animate exploitation attempts
Monitor file-write events from Animate.exe outside of expected project directories

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-49526

Immediate Actions Required

Update Adobe Animate to the fixed builds listed in APSB24-76 on both Windows and macOS endpoints
Inventory workstations running vulnerable versions 23.0.7, 24.0.4, and earlier, and prioritize creative and marketing teams
Instruct users to avoid opening Animate project files from untrusted sources until patching is complete

Patch Information

Adobe released patched versions of Animate 2023 and Animate 2024 addressing CVE-2024-49526. Administrators should deploy the updates identified in the Adobe Security Advisory APSB24-76. Apply updates through the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop client or managed deployment tooling.

Workarounds

Restrict opening of Animate files received via email or web downloads by enforcing organizational policy
Run Animate under standard user accounts to limit the blast radius of arbitrary code execution
Use application allow-listing to prevent Animate from spawning script interpreters or shells

bash

# Verify installed Animate version on Windows
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Animate" /s | findstr /I "Version"

# Verify installed Animate version on macOS
mdls -name kMDItemVersion "/Applications/Adobe Animate 2024/Adobe Animate 2024.app"