CVE-2011-2423 in Shockwave Player
Summary
by MITRE
msvcr90.dll in Adobe Shockwave Player before 11.6.1.629 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/17/2021
Adobe Shockwave Player contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability in the msvcr90.dll component that affected versions prior to 11.6.1.629. This vulnerability presented a significant security risk as it could be exploited by remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems or cause denial of service conditions through memory corruption attacks. The flaw existed within the Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library component that Shockwave Player utilized for its operations, making it particularly dangerous as it leveraged trusted system libraries. The unspecified vectors of exploitation suggested that attackers could potentially trigger the vulnerability through various means such as malformed Shockwave content, crafted web pages, or malicious media files that would cause the application to improperly handle memory operations. This vulnerability directly relates to CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write operations, both of which are common precursors to memory corruption exploits. The impact of this vulnerability extended beyond simple code execution as it could also enable attackers to escalate privileges, gain unauthorized access to system resources, or completely compromise the affected systems. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability was particularly concerning because Shockwave Player was widely distributed and used across enterprise environments, making it an attractive target for attackers seeking broad system compromise. The vulnerability could be exploited through various attack vectors including web-based delivery methods, email attachments, or malicious websites that would automatically trigger the vulnerable code path when users viewed Shockwave content. Organizations running affected versions of Shockwave Player faced significant risk of compromise, as the vulnerability could be exploited without user interaction in many scenarios, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise security. The exploitation of this vulnerability aligned with techniques described in the attack pattern taxonomy under attack techniques such as code injection and memory corruption attacks. Security professionals needed to prioritize patching this vulnerability as it represented a critical threat to system integrity and could serve as a foothold for more extensive attacks within compromised networks. The remediation approach required immediate deployment of Adobe's security update that patched the memory corruption issue in the msvcr90.dll component, ensuring that all affected installations were properly updated to prevent exploitation. This vulnerability highlighted the importance of keeping third-party components updated and demonstrated how flaws in system libraries could have widespread implications across multiple applications that depend on them for functionality.
The vulnerability was particularly dangerous because it could be triggered through legitimate Shockwave content that appeared benign, making detection and prevention challenging for security teams. Attackers could craft malicious Shockwave files that would exploit the memory corruption flaw when opened by vulnerable versions of the player, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability meant that attackers could manipulate heap or stack memory in ways that would allow them to execute malicious code with the privileges of the user running the Shockwave Player application. This type of vulnerability was classified as a remote code execution threat, which meant that attackers did not need physical access to target systems and could exploit the flaw from anywhere on the internet. The widespread adoption of Shockwave Player across different platforms and operating systems meant that this vulnerability had a broad attack surface, affecting numerous users and organizations that had not yet applied the necessary security patches. The vulnerability also demonstrated the risks associated with legacy software components and highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches for all installed software, particularly plugins and runtime libraries that are frequently targeted by attackers. Organizations needed to implement comprehensive patch management processes to ensure that all instances of the vulnerable Shockwave Player were updated promptly, as the window of opportunity for exploitation was significant given the prevalence of the affected versions in production environments. This vulnerability served as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining security awareness and ensuring that all software components, including those that might seem less critical, were properly maintained and updated to protect against known exploits.