CVE-2025-54240: Adobe After Effects Information Disclosure

CVE-2025-54240 Overview

Adobe After Effects contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that can expose process memory contents. The flaw affects After Effects versions 25.3, 24.6.7 and earlier on both Windows and macOS platforms. An attacker can exploit the issue by crafting a malicious project file and convincing a victim to open it in After Effects. Successful exploitation reads memory outside the intended buffer boundary, potentially disclosing sensitive information from the application process. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-125 (Out-of-Bounds Read).

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation exposes process memory, which may contain sensitive data such as credentials, cryptographic material, or fragments of other files loaded into the After Effects process.

Affected Products

Adobe After Effects 25.3 and earlier
Adobe After Effects 24.6.7 and earlier
Windows and macOS installations of the affected versions

Discovery Timeline

2025-09-09 - CVE-2025-54240 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-54240

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds read within Adobe After Effects file parsing logic. When After Effects processes a specially crafted project or media file, the parser reads memory beyond the allocated buffer. The result is uncontrolled disclosure of adjacent process memory back through the application. Attackers can leverage this behavior to leak confidential data resident in the After Effects address space. Exploitation requires the victim to open the malicious file, and the attacker must already have local access to deliver it. The confidentiality impact is high, while integrity and availability of the host remain unaffected.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or incorrect bounds validation during file parsing. The affected code path trusts a length or offset value derived from attacker-controlled input and reads past the end of a buffer. Adobe has not published detailed technical internals for the parser at fault. Refer to the Adobe After Effects Security Advisory APSB25-86 for vendor guidance.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires local access and user interaction. An attacker crafts a malicious After Effects project or asset file and delivers it through email, shared storage, or a compromised download site. The victim opens the file in a vulnerable After Effects version, at which point the out-of-bounds read triggers. The disclosed memory contents can be exfiltrated through the malicious file's payload behavior or through subsequent user actions. No verified public proof-of-concept or exploit code is available at this time.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-54240

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected Adobe After Effects crashes or abnormal terminations when opening third-party project files
After Effects processes reading atypical file types or files from untrusted network shares and downloads directories
Outbound network connections initiated by AfterFX.exe shortly after opening a project file

Detection Strategies

Inventory endpoints running After Effects and correlate installed versions against the fixed builds in APSB25-86
Monitor process telemetry for AfterFX.exe (Windows) and After Effects (macOS) opening files from user-writable, non-standard paths
Alert on child processes spawned by After Effects, which is uncommon during normal editing workflows

Monitoring Recommendations

Ingest endpoint file-open and process-execution events into your SIEM or data lake for retrospective hunting
Flag email attachments and downloads with .aep, .aet, or related After Effects extensions from untrusted senders
Track user-reported crashes in After Effects and prioritize forensic review on affected workstations

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-54240

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Adobe After Effects to the fixed versions listed in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB25-86
Restrict After Effects users from opening project files received from untrusted or external sources until patching is complete
Verify that Adobe Creative Cloud auto-update is enabled for managed endpoints

Patch Information

Adobe addressed CVE-2025-54240 in the security update published in APSB25-86. Administrators should deploy the latest After Effects release through Adobe Creative Cloud or their managed software distribution platform. Both Windows and macOS builds require the update.

Workarounds

Do not open After Effects project files or assets from untrusted email, chat, or download sources
Isolate creative workstations that handle external assets from systems storing sensitive credentials or intellectual property
Apply application allowlisting to prevent unauthorized versions of After Effects from executing

bash

# Verify installed After Effects version on Windows
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\After Effects" /s /f Version

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