CVE-2010-1295 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x before 9.3.3, and 8.x before 8.2.3 on Windows and Mac OS X, allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2010-2202, CVE-2010-2207, CVE-2010-2209, CVE-2010-2210, CVE-2010-2211, and CVE-2010-2212.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/18/2021
Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions prior to 9.3.3 for Windows and Mac OS X contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service attacks. This vulnerability represented a distinct class of flaws separate from other contemporaneous issues affecting the same software ecosystem. The vulnerability stemmed from improper handling of malformed input data within the PDF processing engine, specifically in how the application managed memory allocation and deallocation during document parsing operations. Attackers could exploit this weakness by crafting malicious PDF files that would trigger buffer overflows or heap corruption when the vulnerable software attempted to render or process the malicious content.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with common software security weaknesses documented in the CWE database, particularly those related to memory safety issues such as CWE-121, CWE-122, and CWE-125 which encompass buffer overflows and heap corruption scenarios. The flaw manifested when the Adobe application encountered specially crafted PDF elements that caused the memory management system to allocate insufficient space for data structures, leading to memory corruption that could be leveraged to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the running application. This type of vulnerability falls under the ATT&CK framework category of T1059 for command and script injection, as successful exploitation could allow attackers to execute malicious commands within the victim's system context.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was severe across enterprise environments where Adobe Reader was widely deployed for document viewing. Organizations faced significant risk of compromise as users frequently opened PDF documents from untrusted sources, making this a prime target for social engineering campaigns. The vulnerability could be exploited through various attack vectors including email attachments, web downloads, and malicious websites that served compromised PDF files. The memory corruption nature meant that exploitation could result in either complete system compromise or denial of service, depending on the specific attack scenario and target system configuration.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate patch deployment as the primary defense mechanism, with organizations needing to update to Adobe Reader 9.3.3 or later versions for 9.x releases, and 8.2.3 or later for 8.x releases. System administrators should have implemented additional protective measures including PDF file scanning, restricted user permissions, and sandboxing environments to limit the potential damage from successful exploitation attempts. Network-level protections such as content filtering and web application firewalls could help prevent users from accessing malicious PDF files, while user education programs should have emphasized the importance of only opening PDF documents from trusted sources. The vulnerability highlighted the importance of regular security updates and the need for organizations to maintain comprehensive patch management processes to protect against known exploits in widely used software applications.