CVE-2012-0764 in Shockwave Player
Summary
by MITRE
The Shockwave 3D Asset component in Adobe Shockwave Player before 11.6.4.634 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-0757, CVE-2012-0760, CVE-2012-0761, CVE-2012-0762, CVE-2012-0763, and CVE-2012-0766.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/29/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-0764 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within Adobe Shockwave Player's 3D Asset component, affecting versions prior to 11.6.4.634. This vulnerability specifically targets the Shockwave Player's handling of 3D assets and poses significant security risks to users who encounter maliciously crafted Shockwave content. The flaw enables attackers to execute arbitrary code or induce denial of service conditions through unspecified attack vectors that differ from other contemporaneous vulnerabilities in the same product line. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue indicates that improper memory handling during 3D asset processing creates opportunities for exploitation that can lead to complete system compromise or service disruption.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory management within the Shockwave Player's 3D Asset processing engine. When the player encounters malformed or malicious 3D asset data, the component fails to properly validate memory boundaries and allocation parameters, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate memory structures. This type of vulnerability typically manifests through buffer overflows, heap corruption, or other memory management errors that can be leveraged to execute malicious code at the privilege level of the running Shockwave Player process. The memory corruption aspect places this vulnerability in the CWE-119 category, which encompasses weaknesses related to memory safety and improper handling of memory resources.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents substantial risks to enterprise environments where Shockwave Player remains installed and actively used. The ability to execute arbitrary code means that attackers can potentially gain full system control, install malware, or establish persistent backdoors on affected systems. The denial of service component of this vulnerability can be exploited to disrupt legitimate business operations by causing the Shockwave Player to crash or become unresponsive, which may be particularly problematic in environments where Shockwave content is regularly accessed. Organizations that have not migrated away from Shockwave technology continue to face exposure to this vulnerability, as the attack surface remains valid for systems running vulnerable versions of the software.
Security professionals should prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability through the deployment of Adobe's security update, specifically version 11.6.4.634 or later, which addresses the memory corruption issues within the 3D Asset component. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all instances of Shockwave Player across the enterprise are updated. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing content filtering measures to prevent access to untrusted Shockwave content, particularly in environments where Shockwave functionality is not essential for business operations. Organizations should also monitor for any exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and endpoint detection systems, as the vulnerability's exploitation patterns may be detectable through anomalous memory access patterns or process behavior. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under software exploitation techniques, specifically targeting the execution of arbitrary code through memory corruption vulnerabilities that can be leveraged for privilege escalation and system compromise.