CVE-2013-1373 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in Adobe Flash Player before 10.3.183.63 and 11.x before 11.6.602.168 on Windows, before 10.3.183.61 and 11.x before 11.6.602.167 on Mac OS X, before 10.3.183.61 and 11.x before 11.2.202.270 on Linux, before 11.1.111.43 on Android 2.x and 3.x, and before 11.1.115.47 on Android 4.x; Adobe AIR before 3.6.0.597; and Adobe AIR SDK before 3.6.0.599 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2013-0642, CVE-2013-0645, CVE-2013-1365, CVE-2013-1366, CVE-2013-1367, CVE-2013-1368, CVE-2013-1369, CVE-2013-1370, and CVE-2013-1372.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/05/2021
Adobe Flash Player suffered from a critical buffer overflow vulnerability that affected multiple operating systems and versions across Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Android platforms. This vulnerability existed in Flash Player versions prior to 10.3.183.63 for Windows, 10.3.183.61 for Mac OS X, 10.3.183.61 for Linux, 11.1.111.43 for Android 2.x and 3.x, and 11.1.115.47 for Android 4.x, as well as in Adobe AIR versions before 3.6.0.597 and AIR SDK versions before 3.6.0.599. The flaw manifested as a classic buffer overflow condition where malicious input could exceed the allocated memory buffer, leading to memory corruption and potential code execution.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations. The vulnerability was particularly dangerous because it could be exploited through web browsers when users visited malicious websites or opened specially crafted Flash content. Attackers could leverage this flaw to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected user, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
This vulnerability represented a significant threat to enterprise and individual users alike, as Flash Player was widely deployed across multiple platforms and browsers. The attack surface was extensive since many websites relied on Flash content for multimedia presentations, interactive applications, and web-based services. The exploitation typically occurred through drive-by downloads or malicious web pages that automatically triggered the vulnerable code path when Flash Player attempted to process malicious input. The impact extended beyond simple code execution to potential privilege escalation, data theft, and persistent backdoor installation.
Organizations and users should have immediately applied patches released by Adobe to address this vulnerability. The recommended mitigations included updating to patched versions of Flash Player, AIR, and AIR SDK across all supported platforms. Additionally, implementing browser security measures such as disabling Flash content by default, using sandboxing techniques, and maintaining up-to-date antivirus signatures helped reduce the risk of exploitation. Security professionals should have monitored exploit trends and implemented network-based detection measures to identify attempts to leverage this vulnerability in the wild. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this vulnerability under T1059 for command and scripting interpreter and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation, highlighting the multi-stage nature of attacks that could emerge from such a critical buffer overflow.