CVE-2011-0596 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
The Bitmap parsing component in 2d.dll in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 10.x before 10.0.1, 9.x before 9.4.2, and 8.x before 8.2.6 on Windows and Mac OS X allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an image with crafted (1) height and (2) width values for an RLE_8 compressed bitmap, which triggers a heap-based buffer overflow, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-0598, CVE-2011-0599, and CVE-2011-0602.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/16/2021
The vulnerability described in CVE-2011-0596 represents a critical heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat's bitmap parsing functionality within the 2d.dll component. This flaw specifically affects versions prior to 10.0.1 for 10.x series, 9.4.2 for 9.x series, and 8.2.6 for 8.x series across both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. The vulnerability manifests when processing RLE_8 compressed bitmaps, which are commonly used in digital documents and images. The attack vector involves sending a specially crafted image file with manipulated height and width parameters that cause the application to allocate insufficient memory buffers for processing the bitmap data.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a heap-based buffer overflow condition that arises from improper validation of bitmap dimensions during the parsing process. When Adobe Reader or Acrobat encounters an image with crafted height and width values, the application's memory allocation routine calculates buffer sizes based on these malicious parameters, leading to insufficient memory being allocated for the actual bitmap data. This miscalculation results in data being written beyond the allocated buffer boundaries, potentially overwriting adjacent memory regions including stack canaries, return addresses, or other critical program structures. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected application, typically resulting in full system compromise when the application runs with elevated permissions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations relying on Adobe Reader and Acrobat for document processing, as it can be exploited through email attachments, web downloads, or any method of delivering malicious PDF files. The impact extends beyond simple code execution to include potential data breaches, system infiltration, and lateral movement within network environments. Security professionals should note that this vulnerability differs from related CVEs such as CVE-2011-0598, CVE-2011-0599, and CVE-2011-0602, indicating that it represents a distinct attack surface within the same software component. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, heap-based buffer overflow, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter, as successful exploitation would likely involve executing malicious code through the compromised application.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including prompt patching of affected Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions, deployment of network intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts, and implementation of email filtering rules to block suspicious PDF attachments. Additionally, security teams should consider deploying application whitelisting solutions to restrict execution of untrusted PDF processing applications, and establish memory protection mechanisms such as DEP and ASLR to make exploitation more difficult. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and memory management in multimedia processing components, particularly those handling user-supplied data in document rendering applications. Organizations should also conduct security assessments to identify other potential buffer overflow vulnerabilities in similar components and implement comprehensive vulnerability management processes to address such issues proactively.