CVE-2025-54241: Adobe After Effects Information Disclosure

CVE-2025-54241 Overview

Adobe After Effects contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability affecting versions 25.3, 24.6.7, and earlier. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2025-54241, allows an attacker to read memory beyond allocated buffer boundaries. Successful exploitation can expose sensitive data residing in process memory. The vulnerability requires user interaction: a victim must open a crafted project or media file in After Effects. Exploitation is local in scope and does not require privileges on the target host.

Critical Impact
An attacker who convinces a user to open a malicious file can read adjacent process memory, potentially disclosing sensitive information handled by After Effects.

Affected Products

Adobe After Effects 25.3 and earlier
Adobe After Effects 24.6.7 and earlier
Deployments on Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS

Discovery Timeline

2025-09-09 - CVE-2025-54241 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-54241

Vulnerability Analysis

The issue is classified as an out-of-bounds read [CWE-125]. After Effects parses project and media files containing structured metadata, layer data, and effects parameters. When processing a malformed file, the application reads beyond the bounds of an allocated buffer. The returned bytes can include heap contents such as pointers, cached file data, or application state.

The vulnerability affects confidentiality only. Integrity and availability are not impacted according to the CVSS vector. Exploitation requires local access to the host and user interaction to open the malicious file.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or incorrect bounds validation during parsing of attacker-controlled file structures. Length fields or offsets within the file are trusted without verification against the actual allocated buffer size. The parser then reads past the end of the buffer, returning adjacent memory to the caller.

Attack Vector

An attacker crafts a malicious After Effects project file or supported media asset. The file is delivered through email, shared drives, a project exchange, or a download link. When the victim opens the file in a vulnerable version of After Effects, the parser triggers the out-of-bounds read. Leaked memory can be exfiltrated through subsequent file operations, telemetry, or by chaining with another flaw.

No verified proof-of-concept code is publicly available for CVE-2025-54241. Technical specifics are described in prose per Adobe's advisory. Refer to the Adobe After Effects Security Advisory for vendor-supplied details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-54241

Indicators of Compromise

After Effects process (AfterFX.exe on Windows, After Effects on macOS) crashing or generating unexpected error reports immediately after opening a received file.
Project files or media assets delivered from untrusted sources with unusual sizes, non-standard extensions, or malformed headers.
Unexpected outbound network connections initiated by After Effects shortly after opening an external asset.

Detection Strategies

Monitor endpoint telemetry for After Effects processes reading files from user download directories, email attachments, or removable media.
Alert on After Effects spawning child processes or accessing unrelated sensitive files, which may indicate chained exploitation.
Correlate crash reports and Windows Error Reporting events referencing After Effects modules against recent file-open activity.

Monitoring Recommendations

Inventory installed After Effects versions across workstations and flag any instance at or below 25.3 or 24.6.7.
Track file hashes of After Effects project files circulated through collaboration platforms and email gateways.
Review Adobe Creative Cloud update logs to confirm patch deployment status on each endpoint.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-54241

Immediate Actions Required

Update Adobe After Effects to the fixed versions listed in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB25-86.
Restrict opening of After Effects project files received from external or untrusted sources until patches are applied.
Communicate the risk to creative teams and establish a verification workflow for externally supplied assets.

Patch Information

Adobe addressed CVE-2025-54241 in the security update documented in APSB25-86. Apply the latest After Effects release through Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop. Refer to the Adobe After Effects Security Advisory for exact fixed version numbers and download instructions.

Workarounds

Do not open After Effects files from unverified senders or unknown URLs.
Enforce application allowlisting to prevent execution of unsanctioned After Effects installations that remain unpatched.
Isolate media production workstations from sensitive data stores to limit the value of any leaked memory contents.

bash

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

# Verify installed After Effects version on Windows (PowerShell)
Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*" |
  Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -like "Adobe After Effects*" } |
  Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion