CVE-2014-0495 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Reader and Acrobat 10.x before 10.1.9 and 11.x before 11.0.06 on Windows and Mac OS X allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2014-0493.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/08/2021
Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions 10.x prior to 10.1.9 and 11.x prior to 11.0.06 contain a memory corruption vulnerability that enables remote code execution or denial of service attacks on Windows and Mac OS X systems. This vulnerability represents a distinct issue from CVE-2014-0493 and affects the handling of specific file formats within the Adobe Acrobat processing engine. The flaw manifests when the application processes malformed or specially crafted input files, leading to improper memory management that can be exploited by attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the targeted user. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of input parameters during document parsing operations, creating opportunities for heap-based buffer overflows or use-after-free conditions. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read and CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write, indicating the presence of memory corruption issues that can be leveraged for privilege escalation. The attack vector typically involves tricking users into opening malicious PDF files through social engineering tactics or compromised websites. The operational impact includes potential system compromise, data theft, and persistent backdoor access when exploited successfully. Organizations running affected versions face significant risk due to the widespread use of Adobe Reader across enterprise environments, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203: Exploitation for Client Execution, where adversaries leverage application vulnerabilities to execute malicious code on target systems. Memory corruption flaws of this nature often provide attackers with a pathway to establish persistent access and escalate privileges within compromised environments. The affected versions represent critical security gaps that require immediate remediation through official Adobe patches, as the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without user interaction in many scenarios.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper memory management during PDF document processing, where the Acrobat engine fails to properly validate the structure and content of input files before allocating memory for processing. When encountering malformed data structures, the application's memory allocation routines can be manipulated to overwrite critical memory regions, leading to unpredictable behavior including code execution or application crashes. The vulnerability demonstrates characteristics of heap corruption that can be exploited through carefully crafted input sequences designed to trigger specific memory layout conditions. Attackers can leverage this flaw by constructing malicious PDF files that, when opened by the vulnerable application, cause memory corruption leading to arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple denial of service, as successful exploitation can result in complete system compromise. This type of vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the application level and can be triggered through legitimate user interactions, making it difficult to detect and prevent through traditional network security measures. The memory corruption aspects of this vulnerability align with common exploit patterns documented in cybersecurity literature, where attackers focus on manipulating heap memory to achieve code execution. Security researchers have noted that such vulnerabilities often remain undetected for extended periods due to their subtle nature and the complexity of memory management in modern applications.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Adobe Reader and Acrobat installations to mitigate this vulnerability. The recommended approach involves deploying official Adobe security updates through centralized management systems, ensuring all endpoints are protected against exploitation attempts. System administrators should implement additional security controls including PDF file scanning, restricted user permissions, and network-based protections to reduce the attack surface. Regular security assessments should verify that all Adobe applications are updated to supported versions, as older releases may contain additional undiscovered vulnerabilities. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining current security patches and implementing comprehensive application whitelisting policies to prevent execution of untrusted code. Security monitoring should include detection of unusual PDF processing activities and potential exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis. Incident response procedures should be updated to include specific handling protocols for potential exploitation of this memory corruption vulnerability, ensuring rapid identification and containment of any successful attacks. The remediation process should also involve user education to prevent social engineering attacks that might deliver malicious PDF files, as well as regular security awareness training to reduce the risk of successful exploitation attempts.