CVE-2011-0599 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
The Bitmap parsing component in rt3d.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 a crafted image that causes an invalid pointer calculation related to 4/8-bit RLE compression, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-0596, CVE-2011-0598, and CVE-2011-0602.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/17/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-0599 represents a critical heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat's rt3d.dll component responsible for bitmap parsing operations. This flaw specifically manifests during the processing of 4/8-bit Run-Length Encoding compressed images, where improper pointer arithmetic leads to memory corruption that can be exploited by remote attackers. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of Adobe's document viewer software across both Windows and Mac operating systems, with the most significant impact occurring in versions 10.x prior to 10.0.1, 9.x prior to 9.4.2, and 8.x prior to 8.2.6. The technical implementation involves a classic invalid pointer calculation that occurs when the software attempts to parse malformed bitmap data, creating a scenario where attacker-controlled input can manipulate memory layout and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution, as it represents a sophisticated attack vector that can be leveraged for privilege escalation and system compromise. Attackers can craft malicious image files that, when opened by an affected Adobe Reader or Acrobat instance, trigger the flawed pointer calculation logic in rt3d.dll. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and specifically relates to improper pointer arithmetic that results in memory corruption. The attack surface is particularly concerning given Adobe Reader's widespread deployment across enterprise environments and individual user systems, making this vulnerability a prime target for exploit development. The fact that this vulnerability operates independently from other related CVEs such as CVE-2011-0596, CVE-2011-0598, and CVE-2011-0602 indicates a distinct code path within the bitmap parsing engine that requires separate mitigation strategies.
Security researchers have classified this vulnerability as a remote code execution flaw that can be delivered through various attack vectors including email attachments, web downloads, or malicious websites. The exploitation process typically involves crafting a specially formatted image file that contains malformed RLE compression data, which when processed by the vulnerable rt3d.dll component triggers the memory corruption. This attack pattern aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which covers command and scripting interpreter usage, as the successful exploitation often results in command execution within the context of the Adobe Reader process. Organizations that deploy Adobe Reader in their environments face significant risk from this vulnerability, particularly those that do not maintain up-to-date security patches or employ comprehensive application whitelisting policies to prevent execution of untrusted code. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple major versions of Adobe's software demonstrates the complexity of addressing memory corruption issues in widely-deployed software components, and underscores the importance of maintaining current security patches for all software applications.