CVE-2013-5330 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 11.7.700.252 and 11.8.x and 11.9.x before 11.9.900.152 on Windows and Mac OS X and before 11.2.202.327 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 3.9.0.1210, Adobe AIR SDK before 3.9.0.1210, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 3.9.0.1210 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2013-5329.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/02/2021
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 11.7.700.252 and 11.8.x and 11.9.x before 11.9.900.152 on Windows and Mac OS X platforms, along with Adobe AIR versions before 3.9.0.1210 and related SDK components, contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service attacks. This vulnerability represents a distinct issue from CVE-2013-5329 and demonstrates the ongoing security challenges inherent in Flash Player's complex architecture and memory management systems. The flaw manifested through unspecified attack vectors that could be exploited by malicious actors to manipulate memory structures within the Flash Player runtime environment, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution on affected systems. The vulnerability's impact extends across multiple operating systems including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms, highlighting the cross-platform nature of Flash Player's attack surface and the widespread potential for exploitation. Memory corruption vulnerabilities of this nature typically arise from improper bounds checking, use-after-free conditions, or buffer overflow scenarios within the application's native code execution paths. This particular vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write operations, both of which are common attack vectors in memory corruption exploits. The technical implementation of Flash Player's ActionScript virtual machine and its integration with native system components created opportunities for attackers to craft malicious SWF files that could trigger memory corruption during normal playback operations. The exploitation of such vulnerabilities often follows patterns consistent with the attack technique described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under T1059.007 for command and script injection, where attackers leverage the Flash Player environment to execute malicious code within the context of the user's session. The denial of service aspect of this vulnerability could manifest as application crashes or system instability, while the remote code execution capability represented a more severe threat that could allow attackers to gain persistent access to compromised systems. The vulnerability's presence across multiple Flash Player versions and Adobe AIR components indicates a systemic issue within the software's memory management and input validation mechanisms, suggesting that the flaw may have originated from core architectural components rather than isolated code segments. Security researchers identified this vulnerability through systematic analysis of memory corruption patterns and reverse engineering of Flash Player's execution flow, particularly focusing on how SWF file parsing and execution interacted with system memory allocation. The exploitation timeline for this vulnerability was particularly concerning as Flash Player remained widely deployed across enterprise and consumer environments, providing attackers with substantial attack surface for exploitation. Organizations running affected versions of Flash Player and AIR components faced significant risk of compromise, as the vulnerability could be triggered through simple web browsing activities or by opening malicious files within the Flash Player environment. The complexity of Flash Player's architecture, which combines scripting languages with native code execution, created numerous potential entry points for attackers to exploit memory corruption issues. This vulnerability underscored the inherent security challenges associated with rich internet applications and multimedia frameworks that operate with elevated privileges and direct system access. The remediation process required organizations to update to patched versions of Flash Player and AIR components, which involved coordinated patch management efforts across multiple software platforms and system configurations. Security professionals recommended immediate patch deployment as the primary mitigation strategy, while also implementing network-based controls and monitoring for potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue places it within the category of advanced persistent threat vectors that can be leveraged for sophisticated attacks, particularly when combined with other exploit techniques. The widespread deployment of Flash Player across various platforms and the complex interaction between its components and system resources made this vulnerability particularly dangerous and difficult to fully mitigate without comprehensive system updates and security hardening measures.