CVE-2012-5257 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in Adobe Flash Player before 10.3.183.29 and 11.x before 11.4.402.287 on Windows and Mac OS X, before 10.3.183.29 and 11.x before 11.2.202.243 on Linux, before 11.1.111.19 on Android 2.x and 3.x, and before 11.1.115.20 on Android 4.x; Adobe AIR before 3.4.0.2710; and Adobe AIR SDK before 3.4.0.2710 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than other Flash Player buffer overflow CVEs listed in APSB12-22.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/14/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-5257 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR runtime environments across multiple operating systems and platforms. This security weakness affects various versions of the Flash Player and AIR software, with specific affected ranges including Flash Player versions prior to 10.3.183.29 and 11.x versions before 11.4.402.287 on Windows and Mac OS X, Linux versions before 10.3.183.29 and 11.x before 11.2.202.243, Android versions before 11.1.111.19 on 2.x and 3.x platforms, and Android 4.x versions before 11.1.115.20. Additionally, Adobe AIR versions before 3.4.0.2710 and AIR SDK versions before 3.4.0.2710 are also impacted by this vulnerability.
This buffer overflow vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking within the Flash Player's handling of multimedia content and data structures. The flaw occurs when the software processes malformed or specially crafted input data, causing memory corruption that can be exploited by attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects multiple platforms and operating systems, making it a widespread threat across different computing environments. The technical implementation involves the software's failure to properly validate input lengths and buffer boundaries, which creates opportunities for attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations with malicious code.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-5257 is severe and potentially catastrophic for affected organizations and individuals. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to gain complete control over affected systems, potentially leading to unauthorized access, data theft, system compromise, and lateral movement within networks. The cross-platform nature of the vulnerability means that organizations cannot assume protection simply by securing one operating system or platform, as all supported platforms remain at risk. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where diverse operating systems and devices coexist, as a single exploit could potentially compromise multiple systems simultaneously.
Security practitioners should implement immediate mitigation strategies including prompt application of vendor patches and updates, network segmentation to limit exposure, and enhanced monitoring for exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of how improper input validation can lead to privilege escalation and arbitrary code execution. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving exploit development and privilege escalation, with potential use in initial access and persistence phases of cyber attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies and disabling Flash Player in environments where it is not strictly required, as this provides additional layers of defense against exploitation attempts.