CVE-2012-2025 in Illustrator
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Illustrator before CS6 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-0780, CVE-2012-2023, CVE-2012-2024, and CVE-2012-2026.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/24/2021
Adobe Illustrator versions prior to CS6 contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that could be exploited by attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service conditions. This vulnerability represents a distinct security flaw from other related issues within the same year, specifically excluding CVE-2012-0780, CVE-2012-2023, CVE-2012-2024, and CVE-2012-2026, indicating that it operates through different attack vectors or exploitation mechanisms. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of input data within the application's memory management systems, creating potential pathways for malicious code injection. This type of flaw typically occurs when applications fail to properly validate or sanitize input parameters before processing them, leading to buffer overflows or other memory corruption scenarios. The unspecified nature of the exact vectors suggests that multiple attack surfaces within the software could be compromised, potentially including file format parsing, graphic rendering operations, or memory allocation routines. From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write operations. The attack surface for this vulnerability extends beyond traditional exploitation methods, as it could potentially be leveraged through crafted malicious files or documents that when opened in Illustrator would trigger the memory corruption. This creates a significant risk for users who frequently work with graphic files or open documents from untrusted sources. The operational impact of this vulnerability could be severe, as successful exploitation could result in complete system compromise or denial of service for the affected application. Attackers could potentially leverage this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to systems, execute malicious code, or disrupt business operations by causing Illustrator to crash or behave unpredictably. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue places it within the ATT&CK framework under techniques such as T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1203 for exploitation for client execution. Organizations using older versions of Adobe Illustrator should consider immediate mitigation strategies including application updates, network segmentation, and user education to prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple years of security research indicates its significance in the Adobe ecosystem and highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions. Security teams should prioritize patching this vulnerability as part of their remediation efforts, particularly given the potential for remote code execution and system compromise. This vulnerability demonstrates the ongoing challenges in securing complex creative software applications where extensive feature sets can introduce numerous potential attack vectors. The distinction from other CVEs in the same timeframe suggests that Adobe's security team identified a unique code path or implementation flaw that required specific remediation efforts beyond standard security updates.