CVE-2009-1867 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 9.0.246.0 and 10.x before 10.0.32.18, and Adobe AIR before 1.5.2, allows attackers to trick a user into (1) selecting a link or (2) completing a dialog, related to a "clickjacking vulnerability."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/13/2021
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 9.0.246.0 and 10.x versions before 10.0.32.18, alongside Adobe AIR before version 1.5.2, contained a critical clickjacking vulnerability that enabled malicious actors to deceive users into performing unintended actions through deceptive user interface elements. This vulnerability exploited the lack of proper security mechanisms within the Flash Player environment that would normally prevent overlay attacks. The flaw allowed attackers to create malicious web pages that would overlay legitimate Flash content with hidden malicious elements, making it appear as though users were interacting with trusted applications while actually executing commands controlled by the attacker.
The technical implementation of this clickjacking vulnerability stemmed from Flash Player's insufficient protection against overlay attacks and its failure to properly handle user interaction events when content was presented in layered interfaces. Attackers could craft web pages that loaded legitimate Flash applications within one frame while simultaneously presenting malicious content in another frame that would capture user clicks and redirect them to unintended targets. This vulnerability specifically affected the way Flash Player handled mouse events and user interface interactions, allowing malicious actors to bypass normal security boundaries between different content layers.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was significant as it could be exploited to perform various malicious activities including unauthorized transactions, data exfiltration, and system compromise. Users could be tricked into clicking on seemingly benign Flash content while actually interacting with hidden malicious elements that would execute commands such as downloading malware, stealing credentials, or performing unauthorized actions within the victim's browser session. The vulnerability particularly affected web applications that relied heavily on Flash Player for interactive content, making it a widespread concern across numerous websites and online services.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate patching of affected Flash Player and AIR versions to implement proper clickjacking protection mechanisms. Organizations should have deployed security updates as soon as they became available, while also implementing additional browser security measures such as clickjacking protection frameworks and content security policies. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-942, which addresses weaknesses in web applications related to insufficient clickjacking protection, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1059 which covers user execution through malicious files and scripts. Security professionals recommended implementing proper sandboxing techniques and restricting Flash content execution in high-security environments until patches were applied.