CVE-2014-0531 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.223 and 14.x before 14.0.0.125 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.378 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 14.0.0.110, Adobe AIR SDK before 14.0.0.110, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 14.0.0.110 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2014-0532 and CVE-2014-0533.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/22/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0531 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR runtime environments across multiple operating systems. This vulnerability affects Flash Player versions prior to 13.0.0.223 and 14.x prior to 14.0.0.125 on Windows and OS X platforms, while also impacting Linux systems with Flash Player versions before 11.2.202.378. Additionally, Adobe AIR products and their corresponding SDKs and compilers are affected, with versions prior to 14.0.0.110 being vulnerable. The flaw allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML code within the context of a user's browser session, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, session hijacking, or malicious content injection.
The technical nature of this XSS vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization mechanisms within the Flash Player and AIR runtime environments. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious web content that, when loaded through a vulnerable Flash player, executes unintended scripts in the user's browser context. The vulnerability operates through unspecified vectors, distinguishing it from related CVE-2014-0532 and CVE-2014-0533, which indicates that the attack surface involves different code paths or implementation flaws within the affected software components. This particular flaw demonstrates a failure in the security model that should prevent untrusted content from executing within the trusted browser environment, creating a pathway for attackers to bypass standard web security controls.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-0531 extends beyond simple script execution, as it provides attackers with the capability to manipulate user sessions, steal sensitive information, and potentially gain persistent access to compromised systems. Users visiting compromised websites or clicking on malicious links could unknowingly execute malicious Flash content that leverages this vulnerability to perform unauthorized actions. The widespread adoption of Flash Player across both desktop and mobile platforms created an extensive attack surface, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could be exploited against a large user base. Organizations relying on Flash-based applications for business processes or user interactions faced significant risk of data breaches and system compromise through this vector.
Security practitioners should implement immediate mitigation strategies including disabling Flash Player in browsers, deploying web application firewalls to filter malicious content, and monitoring network traffic for exploitation attempts. Adobe's recommended remediation involves updating to patched versions of Flash Player and AIR runtime environments, which address the input validation issues that enabled the XSS attack. Organizations should also consider implementing content security policies and sandboxing mechanisms to reduce the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws in web applications and demonstrates the importance of proper input sanitization and output encoding in preventing such security breaches. The attack patterns associated with this vulnerability correspond to techniques outlined in the ATT&CK framework under web application attacks, specifically targeting the execution and persistence phases of the attack lifecycle.