# CVE-2021-28621: Adobe Animate FLA File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Read Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

> An attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution by tricking a user into opening a malicious FLA file in Adobe Animate.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 23 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6j3c-gfqc-gpj8

## What is CVE-2021-28621?

CVE-2021-28621 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Animate, published on 24 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Adobe Animate version 21.0.6 (and earlier) is affected by an Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-28621?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Adobe Animate.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-28621?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-28621 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-28621 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-28621 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Adobe Animate

- [CVE-2016-7866](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7866/): Memory corruption in Adobe Animate 15.2.1.95 and earlier (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-48350](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48350/): Animate | Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (CWE-22) (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2026-76191](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76191/): Animate | Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') (CWE-94) (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2026-48345](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48345/): Animate | Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') (CWE-78) (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2026-48349](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48349/): Animate | Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-28621 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-28621 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Animate, published on 24 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-28621 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Adobe Animate. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28621/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28621/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-28621
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-28621
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-28621

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28621/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.