CVE-2012-4160 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x before 9.5.2 and 10.x before 10.1.4 on Windows and Mac OS X allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-2051, CVE-2012-4147, CVE-2012-4148, CVE-2012-4149, CVE-2012-4150, CVE-2012-4151, CVE-2012-4152, CVE-2012-4153, CVE-2012-4154, CVE-2012-4155, CVE-2012-4156, CVE-2012-4157, CVE-2012-4158, and CVE-2012-4159.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/15/2018
Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions 9.x prior to 9.5.2 and 10.x prior to 10.1.4 contain a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enables remote code execution or denial of service attacks on Windows and Mac OS X systems. This vulnerability represents a distinct threat vector from numerous other CVEs published in the same timeframe, indicating a complex attack surface within Adobe's document processing libraries. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple code paths within the software could potentially trigger the memory corruption, making the vulnerability particularly challenging to defend against and remediate. The vulnerability exists in the core parsing and rendering mechanisms of Adobe's PDF processing engine, which handles various file formats and embedded objects within PDF documents. This flaw allows attackers to craft malicious PDF files that, when opened by vulnerable versions of Adobe Reader or Acrobat, can execute arbitrary code on the target system with the privileges of the user running the application. The memory corruption aspect indicates that the vulnerability likely involves improper handling of memory allocation, deallocation, or access patterns when processing malformed PDF content. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 weakness category, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to memory corruption and arbitrary code execution. From an operational perspective, the vulnerability poses significant risk to organizations relying on Adobe Reader for document processing, as it can be exploited through social engineering attacks where users inadvertently open malicious PDF attachments. The attack surface is broad since PDF files are commonly shared via email, web downloads, and file transfers, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which describes exploit for privilege escalation, and T1203, which covers exploitation of remote services through malicious file delivery. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems, as the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without user interaction in many scenarios. System administrators should also implement network-based protections such as PDF file filtering, sandboxing mechanisms, and strict email attachment policies to reduce exposure. The vulnerability demonstrates the ongoing challenges in securing complex document processing software and highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches in enterprise environments. Additionally, the distinction from other CVEs in the same year indicates that Adobe's PDF engine contained multiple distinct memory corruption vulnerabilities that required separate remediation efforts. This vulnerability underscores the critical need for regular security assessments of document processing applications and the implementation of defense-in-depth strategies that include both network-level protections and endpoint security measures. The memory corruption nature of the vulnerability means that even successful exploitation may not always result in immediate code execution, but rather creates a state where subsequent operations can trigger arbitrary code execution through heap spraying or other exploitation techniques. The vulnerability's presence in both Windows and Mac OS X platforms indicates that the underlying memory management issues affect Adobe's cross-platform implementation, requiring consistent patching across all supported operating systems.