CVE-2010-2873 in Shockwave Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Shockwave Player before 11.5.8.612 does not properly validate offset values in the rcsL RIFF chunks of (1) .DIR and (2) .DCR Director movies, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap memory corruption) or execute arbitrary code via a crafted movie.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/24/2021
Adobe Shockwave Player version 11.5.8.612 and earlier contains a critical heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in its handling of RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format) chunks within Director movie files. The flaw specifically affects the rcsL chunk processing within .DIR and .DCR file formats, where the application fails to properly validate offset values before processing. This validation failure creates a condition where maliciously crafted offset values can cause the application to write data beyond the allocated heap memory boundaries, resulting in heap corruption that can be exploited for remote code execution or denial of service.
The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the Shockwave Player's multimedia processing engine, which is designed to handle various Director movie formats. When processing specially crafted .DIR and .DCR files, the application parses the rcsL chunk without sufficient bounds checking on the offset parameters, allowing attackers to manipulate memory layout through carefully constructed file structures. This represents a classic heap overflow vulnerability that can be exploited through the ATT&CK technique of "Exploitation for Code Execution" under the TTP framework. The CWE identifier for this flaw is CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient boundary checks allow attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems with the privileges of the user running the Shockwave Player application. This creates a significant attack surface since Shockwave Player was widely distributed and often automatically executed within web browsers. The vulnerability can be triggered through web-based attacks where users visit compromised websites hosting malicious Director movies, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users may inadvertently encounter such content. The heap corruption can manifest as application crashes, system instability, or complete system compromise depending on the execution context and exploitation method.
Organizations should immediately update to Adobe Shockwave Player version 11.5.8.612 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the offset validation issues in rcsL chunk processing. Network administrators should implement web content filtering solutions to block access to known malicious .DIR and .DCR files, while security teams should monitor for exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis. System hardening measures including application whitelisting, privilege separation, and regular security updates should be implemented to reduce the attack surface. Additionally, users should be educated about the risks of visiting untrusted websites and opening unknown multimedia files, as the vulnerability can be exploited through social engineering attacks that trick users into downloading and executing malicious content. The remediation process should also include comprehensive vulnerability scanning to identify systems running vulnerable versions of the software and ensure complete patch deployment across all affected endpoints.