CVE-2012-4163 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 10.3.183.23 and 11.x before 11.4.402.265 on Windows and Mac OS X, before 10.3.183.23 and 11.x before 11.2.202.238 on Linux, before 11.1.111.16 on Android 2.x and 3.x, and before 11.1.115.17 on Android 4.x; Adobe AIR before 3.4.0.2540; and Adobe AIR SDK before 3.4.0.2540 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-4164 and CVE-2012-4165.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/27/2021
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to specific patches across multiple operating systems contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution attacks. This vulnerability affected Windows and Mac OS X systems running Flash Player versions before 10.3.183.23 and 11.x before 11.4.402.265, Linux systems with versions before 10.3.183.23 and 11.x before 11.2.202.238, and Android devices with versions before 11.1.111.16 on Android 2.x and 3.x, and before 11.1.115.17 on Android 4.x. Additionally, Adobe AIR versions before 3.4.0.2540 and AIR SDK versions before 3.4.0.2540 were also impacted by this vulnerability. The flaw manifested as an unspecified vector that could be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service conditions through memory corruption attacks. This vulnerability represented a distinct threat from CVE-2012-4164 and CVE-2012-4165, indicating separate code paths and exploitation mechanisms. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which covers out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities. From an operational security perspective, this vulnerability posed significant risk to organizations as Flash Player was widely deployed across enterprise environments and consumer devices, creating numerous potential attack vectors for threat actors. The attack surface was particularly concerning given that Flash Player was commonly used to deliver web content and multimedia applications, making it a prime target for exploitation. The vulnerability's impact extended beyond traditional desktop environments to mobile platforms, demonstrating the cross-platform nature of the threat. Organizations that had not updated their systems were exposed to potential compromise through drive-by downloads or malicious web content that could trigger the memory corruption flaw. The exploitation of this vulnerability could result in complete system compromise, data theft, or persistent backdoor installation, making it a critical security concern. Security professionals should note the specific version thresholds mentioned in the advisory, as these represent the points at which Adobe addressed the memory corruption issues through patches and updates. The vulnerability's classification under the broader category of memory corruption issues places it within the ATT&CK framework's technique T1059 for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers could potentially execute arbitrary commands through the compromised Flash Player process. Organizations needed to implement immediate patch management procedures to address this vulnerability and prevent exploitation attempts targeting these older Flash Player versions.
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to specific patches across multiple operating systems contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution attacks. This vulnerability affected Windows and Mac OS X systems running Flash Player versions before 10.3.183.23 and 11.x before 11.4.402.265, Linux systems with versions before 10.3.183.23 and 11.x before 11.2.202.238, and Android devices with versions before 11.1.111.16 on Android 2.x and 3.x, and before 11.1.115.17 on Android 4.x. Additionally, Adobe AIR versions before 3.4.0.2540 and AIR SDK versions before 3.4.0.2540 were also impacted by this vulnerability. The flaw manifested as an unspecified vector that could be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service conditions through memory corruption attacks. This vulnerability represented a distinct threat from CVE-2012-4164 and CVE-2012-4165, indicating separate code paths and exploitation mechanisms. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which covers out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities. From an operational security perspective, this vulnerability posed significant risk to organizations as Flash Player was widely deployed across enterprise environments and consumer devices, creating numerous potential attack vectors for threat actors. The attack surface was particularly concerning given that Flash Player was commonly used to deliver web content and multimedia applications, making it a prime target for exploitation. The vulnerability's impact extended beyond traditional desktop environments to mobile platforms, demonstrating the cross-platform nature of the threat. Organizations that had not updated their systems were exposed to potential compromise through drive-by downloads or malicious web content that could trigger the memory corruption flaw. The exploitation of this vulnerability could result in complete system compromise, data theft, or persistent backdoor installation, making it a critical security concern. Security professionals should note the specific version thresholds mentioned in the advisory, as these represent the points at which Adobe addressed the memory corruption issues through patches and updates. The vulnerability's classification under the broader category of memory corruption issues places it within the ATT&CK framework's technique T1059 for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers could potentially execute arbitrary commands through the compromised Flash Player process. Organizations needed to implement immediate patch management procedures to address this vulnerability and prevent exploitation attempts targeting these older Flash Player versions.