CVE-2025-27187: Adobe After Effects Information Disclosure

CVE-2025-27187 Overview

CVE-2025-27187 is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability [CWE-125] affecting Adobe After Effects versions 25.1, 24.6.4, and earlier on both Windows and macOS. The flaw allows an attacker to read memory outside the bounds of an allocated buffer, potentially disclosing sensitive process memory. Attackers can leverage the disclosed memory to bypass mitigations such as Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR). Exploitation requires user interaction: the victim must open a crafted malicious file in After Effects.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation discloses sensitive memory contents and enables ASLR bypass, which can facilitate reliable exploitation of secondary memory corruption bugs.

Affected Products

Adobe After Effects 25.1 and earlier
Adobe After Effects 24.6.4 and earlier
Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS installations of the affected versions

Discovery Timeline

2025-04-08 - CVE-2025-27187 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-27187

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds read in Adobe After Effects file parsing logic. When After Effects processes a specially crafted project or media file, the application reads past the allocated buffer boundary. The disclosed memory can contain pointers, heap metadata, or other sensitive process state. An attacker uses this data to defeat ASLR and construct a reliable exploit chain for follow-on memory corruption issues. The impact is confidentiality-only: no integrity or availability effects are described in the advisory. The attack vector is local and requires the victim to open the malicious file, so remote unauthenticated exploitation is not possible.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient bounds validation when parsing untrusted file structures. The affected code path indexes into or copies from a buffer using attacker-influenced offsets or lengths without verifying the read stays within the allocation. This is a classic [CWE-125] Out-of-Bounds Read.

Attack Vector

An attacker crafts a malicious After Effects project file or asset and delivers it via email, file share, or web download. When the victim opens the file in After Effects on Windows or macOS, the parser triggers the out-of-bounds read. The leaked memory is not directly returned to the attacker over the network, so exploitation typically pairs this bug with a secondary write primitive or an information channel available to attacker-controlled scripting within the file format.

No public proof-of-concept code is available for CVE-2025-27187. See the Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-23 for vendor technical guidance.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-27187

Indicators of Compromise

After Effects (AfterFX.exe on Windows, Adobe After Effects.app on macOS) crashes or exceptions triggered shortly after opening a project or media file from an untrusted source.
Unexpected child processes or outbound network connections originating from the After Effects process following a file-open event.
Presence of After Effects project files (.aep, .aepx) or media assets received from unverified sources in user download or temp directories.

Detection Strategies

Monitor endpoint telemetry for anomalous behavior from creative-suite applications, particularly memory access violations and unusual module loads.
Correlate file-open events for After Effects with subsequent process crashes or spawned processes to identify likely exploitation attempts.
Apply file-reputation and sandbox analysis to inbound .aep, .aepx, and related project files before they reach analyst or artist workstations.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable and forward Windows Error Reporting and macOS crash logs from workstations running After Effects to a central log store for review.
Track installed After Effects versions across the fleet and alert when hosts run 25.1, 24.6.4, or earlier builds.
Audit file share and email gateway logs for delivery of Adobe project files from external senders.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-27187

Immediate Actions Required

Update Adobe After Effects to the fixed version listed in Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-23 on all Windows and macOS endpoints.
Instruct users not to open After Effects project files or media assets received from untrusted or unverified sources.
Inventory After Effects installations and prioritize patching for users who routinely receive external project files.

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed builds of After Effects as documented in security bulletin APSB25-23. Administrators should deploy the vendor-supplied updates through Adobe Creative Cloud or their standard software distribution mechanism. Refer to the Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-23 for exact fixed version numbers and installer links.

Workarounds

Restrict opening of After Effects project files to those originating from trusted internal sources until patching is complete.
Open suspect project files only inside an isolated virtual machine or sandboxed workstation with no access to sensitive data.
Apply application allow-listing and least-privilege user accounts to limit the impact of any successful memory disclosure or follow-on exploitation.

bash

# Configuration example
# Windows: verify installed After Effects version
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\After Effects" /s | findstr /i version

# macOS: verify installed After Effects version
defaults read "/Applications/Adobe After Effects 2025/Adobe After Effects 2025.app/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleShortVersionString