# CVE-2021-36001: Adobe Character Animator PNG File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability

> An attacker can disclose arbitrary memory information by tricking a user into opening a malicious PNG file in Adobe Character Animator.

- **Severity:** Low 3.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **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:** 20 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 23 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-px57-xh6g-cqjm

## What is CVE-2021-36001?

CVE-2021-36001 is a low-severity vulnerability in Adobe Character Animator (Preview 4), published on 20 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 Character Animator version 4.2 (and earlier) is affected by an out-of-bounds Read vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to disclose arbitrary memory information 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-2021-36001?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Adobe Character Animator.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-36001?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-36001 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-36001 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36001 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Adobe Character Animator (Preview 4)

- [CVE-2022-34241](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-34241/): Adobe Character Animator SVG File Parsing Heap-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-34242](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-34242/): Adobe Character Animator SVG File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Read Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-28819](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-28819/): Adobe Character Animator SVG File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2021-40763](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40763/): Adobe Character Animator Memory Corruption could lead to Arbitrary code execution (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2021-40764](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-40764/): Adobe Character Animator Memory Corruption could lead to Arbitrary code execution (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-36001 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-36001 is a low-severity vulnerability in Adobe Character Animator (Preview 4), published on 20 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-2021-36001 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Adobe Character Animator (Preview 4). 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-2021-36001/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36001/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-36001
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36001
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-36001

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36001/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.