CVE-2026-48274: 
Adobe After Effects vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2026-48274 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability (CWE-787) in Adobe After Effects that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. It affects Adobe After Effects versions 25.6.5 and earlier, and versions 26.0 through 26.2.1, on both Windows and macOS. The vulnerability was disclosed and patched on July 14, 2026. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High) (Adobe Advisory, GitHub Advisory).

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), meaning the application writes data beyond the boundaries of an allocated buffer during file parsing. The attack vector is local, requiring low complexity and no privileges, but does require user interaction — specifically, a victim must open a specially crafted malicious file. No public technical write-ups or proof-of-concept code detailing the precise parsing flaw or affected file format have been identified at this time (Adobe Advisory, GitHub Advisory).

Successful exploitation allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running Adobe After Effects. The impact spans all three security dimensions — confidentiality, integrity, and availability are all rated High — meaning an attacker could access sensitive data, modify files, or crash the application. The scope is limited to the affected user's context, with no automatic privilege escalation beyond the current user's permissions (Adobe Advisory, GitHub Advisory).

1. Craft a malicious file: Create a specially crafted project or media file (e.g., a malformed After Effects project file or supported media format) that triggers an out-of-bounds write during parsing by Adobe After Effects.
2. Deliver the file to the victim: Use social engineering techniques such as phishing emails, malicious download links, or file-sharing platforms to deliver the crafted file to a target user running a vulnerable version of After Effects (≤25.6.5 or 26.0–26.2.1).
3. Induce the victim to open the file: Convince the victim to open the malicious file in Adobe After Effects, triggering the vulnerable parsing code path.
4. Trigger out-of-bounds write: The application writes data beyond the intended buffer boundary during file processing, corrupting adjacent memory.
5. Achieve code execution: The memory corruption is leveraged to redirect execution flow, resulting in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user (Adobe Advisory).

• Process: Unexpected child processes spawned by Adobe After Effects (e.g., cmd.exe, powershell.exe, bash, curl, or other shells/utilities not normally launched by the application).
• File System: Unusual files written to the user's temp directory or After Effects working directories shortly after opening an untrusted project file; unexpected executables or scripts created in user-writable locations.
• Network: Outbound network connections initiated by the After Effects process to unknown or suspicious external IP addresses or domains, particularly following the opening of an external file.
• Logs: Application crash logs or Windows Event Logs (Event ID 1000/1001) referencing After Effects with access violation or memory corruption errors; macOS crash reports for AfterFX with out-of-bounds memory access stack traces.

Adobe has released patched versions to address this vulnerability: After Effects 25.6.6 (for the 25.x branch) and After Effects 26.3 (for the 26.x branch) on both Windows and macOS. Users should update immediately via the Creative Cloud desktop application. As a general precaution, users should avoid opening After Effects project files or media files received from untrusted or unknown sources (Adobe Advisory).

The CIS (Center for Internet Security) issued an advisory noting that multiple Adobe product vulnerabilities patched in July 2026 could allow for arbitrary code execution, recommending prompt patching (CIS Advisory). Tenable published detection plugins for this vulnerability. No significant independent researcher commentary or notable social media discussion has been identified beyond standard vulnerability tracking and aggregation coverage.