CVE-2011-2459 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-2011-2455, 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 including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris, as well as Adobe AIR before version 3.1.0.4880, contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service attacks. This vulnerability represented a distinct threat vector from other related issues within the same timeframe, specifically excluding CVE-2011-2445, CVE-2011-2451, CVE-2011-2452, CVE-2011-2453, CVE-2011-2454, CVE-2011-2455, and CVE-2011-2460, indicating a unique memory management flaw in the affected software components.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stemmed from improper memory handling within the Flash Player runtime environment, where attackers could manipulate memory structures through crafted malicious content delivered via web pages or embedded media. This memory corruption occurred during the processing of specific Flash content, potentially allowing attackers to overwrite memory locations with malicious code or cause application crashes through buffer overflows and heap corruption techniques. The vulnerability's impact extended across multiple platforms and operating systems, making it particularly dangerous as it affected the most widely deployed versions of Adobe's multimedia framework.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability created significant risk for organizations relying on Flash Player for web content delivery, as it could be exploited through standard web browsing activities without requiring user interaction beyond visiting compromised websites. The attack surface was particularly broad given Flash Player's widespread adoption across enterprise environments, web applications, and consumer platforms, making it an attractive target for cybercriminals seeking to establish persistent access or cause service disruptions. The vulnerability's potential for remote code execution meant that successful exploitation could lead to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and lateral movement within network environments.
Security professionals and system administrators should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to mitigate this vulnerability, as the risk of exploitation remained high throughout the affected release cycles. The remediation process required careful coordination across multiple platforms and software versions, with particular attention to Adobe AIR deployments that were also vulnerable. Organizations should implement network segmentation, web application firewalls, and browser hardening measures to reduce exposure while patches were being deployed, following industry best practices outlined in frameworks such as the mitre attack matrix where this vulnerability would be classified under initial access and execution techniques. This vulnerability also highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing robust software inventory management processes to prevent similar issues from affecting legacy systems in the future.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read and CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write classifications from the Common Weakness Enumeration database, representing memory safety issues that can lead to arbitrary code execution. Organizations should consider implementing additional security controls including browser sandboxing, privilege separation, and regular security assessments to address similar vulnerabilities that may emerge in multimedia and runtime environments. The incident underscored the critical need for continuous security monitoring and rapid response capabilities when dealing with widely deployed software components that serve as attack vectors for sophisticated threat actors.