CVE-2010-3640 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 9.0.289.0 and 10.x before 10.1.102.64 on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris, and 10.1.95.1 on Android, allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unknown vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2010-3641, CVE-2010-3642, CVE-2010-3643, CVE-2010-3644, CVE-2010-3645, CVE-2010-3646, CVE-2010-3647, CVE-2010-3648, CVE-2010-3649, CVE-2010-3650, and CVE-2010-3652.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/28/2021
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 9.0.289.0 and 10.x before 10.1.102.64 on multiple operating systems including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris, as well as version 10.1.95.1 on Android contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution attacks. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-119 weakness category, which encompasses memory safety issues including buffer overflows, out-of-bounds reads, and other memory corruption flaws that can lead to arbitrary code execution. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple code paths within the Flash Player runtime could be exploited, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could be triggered through various means such as malicious web content, crafted media files, or embedded Flash objects in documents.
The vulnerability's impact extends across multiple platforms and operating systems, demonstrating the widespread nature of the flaw and the potential for large-scale exploitation. Attackers could leverage this memory corruption issue to execute malicious code on vulnerable systems, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which covers the use of scripting languages for execution, and T1203, which involves the exploitation of software vulnerabilities for privilege escalation. The fact that this vulnerability was distinct from other related CVEs in the same year indicates that it represented a unique code path or memory handling issue within the Flash Player engine.
The exploitation of this vulnerability would typically involve crafting malicious content that, when processed by the vulnerable Flash Player version, would cause memory corruption leading to arbitrary code execution. This could occur when users visited compromised websites or opened malicious documents containing embedded Flash content. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability specifically relates to improper memory management within the Flash Player runtime environment, where attackers could manipulate memory layout to execute malicious payloads. Organizations deploying these vulnerable versions faced significant risk as the attack surface was broad, encompassing web browsers, email clients, and any application that embedded Flash Player functionality. The vulnerability's presence in multiple operating system environments meant that security teams needed to implement comprehensive patch management strategies across their entire infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability centered around immediate patch deployment and system hardening measures. Organizations should have prioritized updating to patched versions of Adobe Flash Player, specifically versions 9.0.289.0 and 10.1.102.64 for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris, along with the Android version 10.1.95.1. The implementation of web application firewalls, content filtering solutions, and browser security enhancements could have provided additional protective layers. Additionally, security teams should have considered disabling Flash Player entirely in environments where it was not essential, as this would eliminate the attack surface. The vulnerability's characteristics made it particularly suitable for zero-day exploitation in targeted attacks, as evidenced by the ATT&CK framework's categorization of similar memory corruption vulnerabilities as high-value targets for advanced persistent threat groups. System administrators needed to monitor for indicators of compromise and implement network segmentation to limit the potential lateral movement if exploitation occurred. The incident highlighted the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software components and the risks associated with legacy software support in enterprise environments.