CVE-2014-0498 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Stack-based buffer overflow in Adobe Flash Player before 11.7.700.269 and 11.8.x through 12.0.x before 12.0.0.70 on Windows and Mac OS X and before 11.2.202.341 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 4.0.0.1628 on Android, Adobe AIR SDK before 4.0.0.1628, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 4.0.0.1628 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/09/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0498 represents a critical stack-based buffer overflow flaw in Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR runtime environments. This vulnerability affects multiple platform versions including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems, with specific affected ranges spanning from Flash Player versions prior to 11.7.700.269 and 11.8.x through 12.0.x before 12.0.0.70, alongside AIR versions before 4.0.0.1628 on Android platforms. The flaw manifests in the processing of unspecified vectors within the Flash Player runtime, creating a pathway for remote code execution attacks that can be exploited by malicious actors without user interaction.
This buffer overflow vulnerability resides in the stack memory management of Adobe's Flash Player implementation, where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to write data beyond the allocated buffer boundaries. The technical nature of this flaw aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient boundary checks permit data to overwrite adjacent stack memory locations. The vulnerability's exploitation potential is particularly severe because it enables arbitrary code execution, allowing attackers to bypass system security measures and potentially gain complete control over affected systems. The attack vector typically involves crafting malicious Flash content that when loaded by the vulnerable player triggers the buffer overflow condition, leading to memory corruption that can be leveraged for privilege escalation or system compromise.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-0498 extends beyond simple exploitation capabilities as it affects a widely deployed runtime environment that was integral to web browsing experiences across multiple platforms. Organizations relying on Flash Player for web applications, multimedia content, and rich internet applications faced significant risk exposure, particularly in enterprise environments where the software was extensively used. The vulnerability's presence in both desktop and mobile runtime environments created a broad attack surface that could be exploited through various delivery mechanisms including compromised websites, malicious email attachments, or infected web advertisements. This widespread deployment of Flash Player meant that successful exploitation could result in large-scale compromise of user systems, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous from a cybersecurity perspective and aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate patching of affected Adobe Flash Player and AIR installations across all supported platforms, with particular emphasis on the specified version ranges that were susceptible to exploitation. Security administrators needed to implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all affected systems received updates promptly, as the vulnerability remained exploitable until patched. Additional defensive measures included browser-level restrictions on Flash content execution, network-based filtering to block known malicious Flash content, and endpoint detection systems to identify potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification as a critical security flaw necessitated immediate attention from security teams and highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date software components, particularly those with widespread deployment and significant privilege requirements. Organizations were advised to conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all systems running affected versions and implement layered security controls to reduce the attack surface and limit potential exploitation success.