CVE-2011-2448 in Shockwave Player
Summary
by MITRE
The DIRapi library in Adobe Shockwave Player before 11.6.3.633 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-2446.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/05/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-2448 affects the DIRapi library within Adobe Shockwave Player versions prior to 11.6.3.633, representing a critical security flaw that exposes users to potential remote code execution or denial of service conditions. This vulnerability operates through unspecified attack vectors that differ from the closely related CVE-2011-2446, indicating a distinct pathway for exploitation within the Shockwave Player framework. The DIRapi library serves as a component responsible for handling directory-related operations within the Shockwave Player environment, making it a potential entry point for malicious actors seeking to compromise systems through crafted content.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from memory corruption issues within the DIRapi library implementation, where improper input validation or buffer handling mechanisms fail to adequately protect against maliciously constructed data. This memory corruption can manifest in various ways including heap corruption, stack overflow conditions, or arbitrary memory access violations that ultimately allow attackers to manipulate the program execution flow. The unspecified vectors suggest that multiple attack surfaces within the library may be susceptible to exploitation, potentially including malformed file parsing, improper parameter handling, or inadequate boundary checks during directory operations processing.
From an operational impact perspective, successful exploitation of CVE-2011-2448 could enable attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems with the privileges of the user running the Shockwave Player application. This represents a significant elevation of privilege risk, particularly in environments where users may have elevated system access or where the player is used to process untrusted content from web applications or downloaded files. The denial of service component of this vulnerability could also disrupt legitimate user operations through application crashes or system instability, potentially affecting productivity and availability of services that depend on Shockwave Player functionality.
Organizations and security professionals should prioritize the immediate deployment of Adobe's security patches addressing this vulnerability, as the affected versions of Shockwave Player remain prevalent in many enterprise environments. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all instances of vulnerable software are updated, alongside network segmentation and content filtering measures to reduce exposure to potentially malicious Shockwave content. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, heap-based buffer overflow, and may map to ATT&CK techniques involving execution through malicious content delivery and privilege escalation through application exploitation, emphasizing the need for layered defensive measures including endpoint protection, network monitoring, and user awareness training to prevent successful exploitation attempts.
The broader implications of this vulnerability highlight the persistent security challenges associated with multimedia player software and their complex codebases that handle diverse input formats. Given the nature of Shockwave Player's functionality and its integration with web browsers and content delivery systems, this vulnerability demonstrates how legacy multimedia technologies can present ongoing security risks that require continuous monitoring and proactive remediation efforts to maintain secure computing environments.