CVE-2026-34690: Adobe After Effects Stack-based Buffer Overflow

Adobe After Effects versions 26.0, 25.6.4 and earlier are vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow (CVE-2026-34690). An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The exploit requires user interaction, specifically, the victim must open a specially crafted malicious file in After Effects. This vulnerability poses a significant risk as successful exploitation could allow an attacker to compromise the user’s system.

Attack Chain

1. An attacker crafts a malicious After Effects project file.
2. The attacker distributes the malicious file to a target victim, potentially via email or other file-sharing methods.
3. The victim opens the malicious After Effects project file in a vulnerable version (<=26.0, 25.6.4).
4. The vulnerable application attempts to parse the malicious file.
5. Due to the buffer overflow in the parsing logic, the attacker can overwrite parts of the stack with controlled values.
6. The code execution is redirected to the attacker’s payload.
7. The attacker executes arbitrary code in the context of the user.
8. The attacker can then install malware, steal data, or perform other malicious actions.

Impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2026-34690 allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the victim’s system. This can lead to a full system compromise, potentially resulting in data theft, malware installation, or other malicious activities. Since the attack requires user interaction, targeted spearphishing attacks are a likely vector.

Recommendation

• Upgrade to a version of Adobe After Effects that addresses CVE-2026-34690; apply the security patch referenced in the Adobe advisory.
• Deploy the Sigma rules provided below to your SIEM to detect potential exploitation attempts.
• Educate users about the risks of opening files from untrusted sources to mitigate the user interaction requirement.