CVE-2011-2455 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 10.3.183.11 and 11.x before 11.1.102.55 on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris and before 11.1.102.59 on Android, and Adobe AIR before 3.1.0.4880, allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-2445, CVE-2011-2451, CVE-2011-2452, CVE-2011-2453, CVE-2011-2454, CVE-2011-2459, and CVE-2011-2460.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/26/2021
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 10.3.183.11 and 11.x versions before 11.1.102.55 across multiple operating systems and Adobe AIR before 3.1.0.4880 contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution attacks. This vulnerability existed within the multimedia framework's handling of malformed or specially crafted content, allowing attackers to manipulate memory structures in ways that could lead to arbitrary code execution or system crashes. The flaw was particularly dangerous because it affected multiple platforms including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, and Android, making it a widespread concern for organizations deploying Flash content across diverse environments. The vulnerability was distinct from other related issues in the same year, indicating a separate code path that was not addressed by previous patches, highlighting the complexity of Flash Player's architecture and the challenges of maintaining secure multimedia frameworks. This memory corruption issue could be exploited through various attack vectors including malicious web pages, embedded Flash content, or specially crafted files that would trigger the vulnerable code paths when processed by the Flash Player runtime. The impact of this vulnerability was significant as it provided attackers with a means to bypass traditional security controls and execute malicious code on target systems, potentially leading to complete system compromise. Organizations using Flash Player were particularly vulnerable because the technology was widely deployed across corporate networks and consumer environments, making the attack surface extremely broad. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-125 indicates it involved out-of-bounds read operations that could lead to memory corruption, while its potential for remote code execution aligns with ATT&CK techniques targeting privilege escalation and persistent threats. The specific versions mentioned as vulnerable represent a critical window where the Flash Player runtime contained exploitable memory management flaws that could be leveraged by adversaries to gain unauthorized access to systems. This vulnerability required immediate attention from security teams as it represented a serious threat to enterprise security infrastructure, particularly in environments where Flash content was frequently accessed through web browsers. The exploitation of this vulnerability could result in data breaches, system compromise, or denial of service conditions that would disrupt normal business operations and potentially lead to financial losses.
The technical implementation of this memory corruption vulnerability stemmed from improper input validation within the Flash Player's rendering engine, where malformed data structures could cause the application to access memory locations outside of allocated boundaries. Attackers could craft malicious Flash content that would trigger these memory access violations when processed by the vulnerable runtime, leading to unpredictable behavior that could be leveraged for code execution. The vulnerability's exploitation required no user interaction beyond visiting a malicious webpage or opening a specially crafted file, making it particularly dangerous for widespread deployment. Security researchers identified that the flaw was related to how Flash Player handled certain data types during rendering operations, where insufficient bounds checking allowed attackers to manipulate memory pointers and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Flash Player process. The cross-platform nature of this vulnerability meant that organizations had to patch multiple systems simultaneously, as the same exploit could work across Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile platforms. This characteristic aligned with ATT&CK tactic TA0002 (execution) and technique T1059.007 (command and scripting interpreter) as attackers could leverage the vulnerability to execute malicious commands through the Flash Player environment. The vulnerability's presence in Adobe AIR further extended the attack surface, as AIR applications often had elevated privileges and could access system resources that would otherwise be restricted. Organizations needed to implement immediate patch management strategies to address this vulnerability, as the window for exploitation was significant and the potential for automated attacks was high. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue indicated that it could be used to achieve privilege escalation or bypass security mechanisms that were designed to protect against such attacks. This type of vulnerability typically required careful code review and memory management practices to prevent, but Adobe's implementation contained flaws that allowed attackers to manipulate the runtime's memory handling capabilities. The fact that this vulnerability was distinct from other related CVEs in the same timeframe suggested that it involved a unique code path that had not been previously identified or patched, indicating gaps in the security testing processes for Flash Player components. The vulnerability's potential for denial of service was equally concerning, as attackers could cause system crashes or memory exhaustion that would disrupt legitimate user access to services and applications. Security teams needed to monitor for exploitation attempts and implement network-based protections while working to deploy patches across all affected systems. The vulnerability's impact was compounded by the widespread use of Flash Player in enterprise environments, where it was often used for training materials, presentations, and internal applications that required immediate remediation to prevent potential compromise of sensitive data. Organizations that had not yet migrated away from Flash technology were particularly vulnerable to this and similar memory corruption issues that plagued the platform throughout its lifecycle. The vulnerability's exploitation could result in complete system compromise, making it a critical priority for security administrators to address through immediate patch deployment and monitoring of system logs for signs of attempted exploitation.