CVE-2011-2107 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 10.3.181.22 on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris, and 10.3.185.22 and earlier on Android, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors, related to a "universal cross-site scripting vulnerability."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/26/2025
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 10.3.181.22 on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris, and 10.3.185.22 and earlier on Android contained a critical cross-site scripting vulnerability that enabled remote attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of a victim's browser session. This universal cross-site scripting vulnerability represented a fundamental flaw in the Flash Player's input validation and output encoding mechanisms, allowing malicious actors to inject malicious content through unspecified attack vectors that could bypass standard security controls. The vulnerability's classification as a universal XSS flaw meant that it affected multiple operating systems and platforms without requiring specific exploitation techniques for each environment, making it particularly dangerous and widespread in its impact. The technical nature of this vulnerability stemmed from inadequate sanitization of user-supplied input within Flash Player's processing pipeline, where data from external sources was not properly escaped or validated before being rendered in web contexts. This flaw permitted attackers to craft malicious Flash content or manipulate existing Flash applications in ways that would execute arbitrary JavaScript code, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious websites. The operational impact of this vulnerability extended beyond simple script injection, as it could be leveraged to perform more sophisticated attacks including phishing, data exfiltration, and browser compromise through the exploitation of Flash Player's rich media capabilities and its integration with web browsers. The vulnerability's presence across multiple platforms including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, and Android systems meant that organizations could not rely on platform-specific protections, requiring comprehensive patch management across all supported operating systems. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which addresses cross-site scripting flaws, specifically the universal nature of the flaw that affects multiple contexts and platforms. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this vulnerability under T1059.007 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript" and potentially T1566 for "Phishing" when used in conjunction with social engineering techniques. Organizations affected by this vulnerability faced significant risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data and system compromise, as the Flash Player's privileged execution environment allowed malicious scripts to operate with the same permissions as legitimate Flash content. The remediation strategy required immediate deployment of patched Flash Player versions across all affected systems, with additional security measures including browser security policies, content filtering, and user education to reduce the attack surface. Security administrators needed to implement comprehensive monitoring solutions to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures to address successful breaches. The vulnerability highlighted the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software components and demonstrated how legacy Flash Player installations could serve as persistent entry points for attackers seeking to compromise modern web environments. This particular vulnerability underscored the need for robust input validation mechanisms and proper output encoding practices in all web-based applications and plugins, as the flaw existed in a widely deployed component that was integral to web browsing experiences across multiple platforms and operating systems.