CVE-2010-2876 in Shockwave Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Shockwave Player before 11.5.8.612 does not properly validate values associated with buffer-size calculation for a 0xFFFFFFF8 record in a (1) .dir or (2) .dcr Director movie, 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 buffer overflow vulnerability in its handling of Director movie files with specific record structures. The flaw occurs during the processing of .dir and .dcr files when the player encounters a 0xFFFFFFF8 record type that triggers improper buffer size validation during memory allocation. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization and validation mechanisms within the Shockwave Player's parsing engine for Director movie format specifications. The affected buffer-size calculation logic fails to properly validate the magnitude of values associated with the record header, allowing maliciously crafted values to overflow allocated heap memory regions. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting specially formatted Director movies that contain malicious 0xFFFFFFF8 records with oversized buffer parameters. When the Shockwave Player processes these malformed records, the insufficient validation causes heap memory corruption that can lead to arbitrary code execution or system crash. This vulnerability represents a classic heap-based buffer overflow scenario where improper bounds checking allows attackers to manipulate memory layout and potentially execute malicious payloads. The impact extends beyond simple denial of service to full system compromise when successful exploitation occurs, making it a critical security concern for systems running vulnerable Shockwave Player versions. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121 heap-based buffer overflow and falls under ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter execution, as exploitation typically involves code injection into the player's memory space. Organizations should prioritize patching to version 11.5.8.612 or later, as this release contains the necessary fixes for the buffer validation logic. Additionally, network administrators should implement strict file type filtering and sandboxing measures to prevent execution of untrusted Director movie files. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust input validation in multimedia processing libraries and highlights the risks associated with legacy software components that may not receive regular security updates. Proper memory management practices and bounds checking should be enforced throughout the parsing pipeline to prevent similar issues in future implementations. System hardening measures including application whitelisting and privilege separation can provide additional defense-in-depth layers against exploitation attempts.