CVE-2012-5279 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 10.3.183.43 and 11.x before 11.5.502.110 on Windows and Mac OS X, before 10.3.183.43 and 11.x before 11.2.202.251 on Linux, before 11.1.111.24 on Android 2.x and 3.x, and before 11.1.115.27 on Android 4.x; Adobe AIR before 3.5.0.600; and Adobe AIR SDK before 3.5.0.600 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/19/2021
Adobe Flash Player and AIR runtime environments suffered from a critical memory corruption vulnerability that affected multiple platforms and versions. This vulnerability resides in the way the software handled certain memory operations during processing of malicious content, creating opportunities for remote code execution or denial of service attacks. The flaw was particularly concerning because Flash Player was widely deployed across Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and mobile platforms including Android, making the attack surface exceptionally broad. The vulnerability manifested across different version ranges for both Flash Player and AIR runtime, with specific patch thresholds defined for each platform and operating system family.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves memory corruption that occurs when the Flash Player or AIR runtime processes malformed input data. Attackers could craft malicious content that, when loaded by an affected application, would trigger memory corruption conditions that could be exploited to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected process. This type of vulnerability typically falls under CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and may also relate to CWE-787, describing out-of-bounds write conditions. The memory corruption could potentially be leveraged through techniques such as heap spraying or return-oriented programming to achieve remote code execution. The vulnerability's impact was amplified by the widespread use of Flash Player, making it an attractive target for exploit development.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was severe and far-reaching across multiple computing environments. Organizations that relied on Flash-based content for web applications, multimedia presentations, or mobile applications faced significant risk of compromise. The vulnerability affected not just desktop operating systems but also mobile platforms, including Android devices running older versions of the Flash runtime. This cross-platform nature meant that security teams had to implement patches across multiple environments, creating complexity in vulnerability management. The attack vectors were particularly dangerous because they could be delivered through standard web browsing activities, making exploitation relatively easy for threat actors who could leverage the widespread deployment of Flash Player to compromise systems without requiring specialized targeting.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate patching of all affected versions of Adobe Flash Player and AIR runtime environments. Organizations needed to implement comprehensive vulnerability management processes that included monitoring for new patches and deploying them across all supported platforms. The recommended approach involved updating to the specific patched versions mentioned in the advisory, with particular attention to Android platforms where different patch thresholds applied. Security teams should have implemented network-based controls including web application firewalls and content filtering to prevent access to known malicious Flash content. Additionally, the use of sandboxing technologies and browser security features could help reduce the potential impact of exploitation attempts. This vulnerability highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date software across all platforms and implementing layered security controls to protect against zero-day exploits. The incident demonstrated how widespread software vulnerabilities could create cascading security risks across multiple operating systems and device types, reinforcing the need for proactive vulnerability management and timely patch deployment strategies.