Adobe After Effects: Path traversal allows arbitrary file read
Summary
Adobe After Effects 26.5 and earlier and 25.6.6 and earlier contain a path traversal flaw (CWE-22). If a user opens a malicious project or media file, an attacker can read files and directories outside the intended access scope, which may include sensitive data on the workstation. The attack is local, requires no privileges, and changes the scope (CVSS 8.6). The CVE record describes file system read, while Adobe's bulletin lists the impact as arbitrary code execution.
Affected
- Adobe After Effects 26.5 and earlier (Windows and macOS)
- Adobe After Effects 25.6.6 and earlier (Windows and macOS)
Fixed in
- Adobe After Effects 26.5.3 for the 26.5 branch
- Adobe After Effects 27.0 for the 25.6.x branch
Workaround
Unknown. No workaround was identified; apply the update.
Exploitation
- Adobe reports no known exploitation in the wild.
- No public proof of concept found.
- CISA SSVC: exploitation none, not automatable.
Our recommendation
- Inventory all After Effects installations and note their versions.
- Update to 26.5.3 or 27.0 via Creative Cloud or the Download Center, as applicable.
- Do not open project or media files from unknown or external sources until patched.
- Apply the usual email and download filtering for creative teams.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- Adobe Security Bulletin APSB26-100 www.adobe.com
- CVE Record CVE-2026-113532 www.cve.org
- ZDI November 2026 Security Update Review www.zerodayinitiative.com
- Strix.ai CVE-2026-113532 (secondary) www.strix.ai
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 11 Nov 2026, 01:07.
Original description (NVD)
After Effects is affected by an Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary file system read. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to access sensitive files and directories outside the intended access scope. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file. Scope is changed.
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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