CVE-2014-0552 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.244 and 14.x and 15.x before 15.0.0.152 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.406 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 15.0.0.249 on Windows and OS X and before 15.0.0.252 on Android, Adobe AIR SDK before 15.0.0.249, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 15.0.0.249 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2014-0547, CVE-2014-0549, CVE-2014-0550, CVE-2014-0551, and CVE-2014-0555.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/15/2022
Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR suffered from a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service conditions across multiple platforms and versions. This vulnerability existed in Flash Player versions prior to 13.0.0.244 and 14.x and 15.x before 15.0.0.152 on Windows and OS X, as well as in Flash Player versions before 11.2.202.406 on Linux. The affected Adobe AIR versions included those before 15.0.0.249 on Windows and OS X, and before 15.0.0.252 on Android, along with corresponding Adobe AIR SDK versions. The flaw manifested through unspecified attack vectors that differed from related vulnerabilities CVE-2014-0547 through CVE-2014-0555, indicating a distinct code path for exploitation. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and represents a classic example of heap-based buffer overflow that could be leveraged for arbitrary code execution. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability places it within the ATT&CK framework under technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers could potentially execute malicious code through compromised Flash content. The attack surface was particularly broad given Flash Player's widespread deployment across web browsers and the prevalence of Adobe AIR applications on desktop and mobile platforms. The vulnerability's impact extended beyond simple denial of service to include complete system compromise, making it a critical concern for enterprise environments where Flash content was commonly encountered. The specific nature of the memory corruption suggested that attackers could manipulate heap allocations or buffer boundaries to overwrite critical memory regions, potentially leading to privilege escalation and persistent system compromise. This vulnerability highlighted the inherent risks associated with rich media platforms like Flash that execute untrusted content with elevated privileges, creating multiple potential attack vectors for sophisticated adversaries.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability required attackers to craft malicious Flash content that could trigger the memory corruption during normal playback operations. The unspecified vectors suggested that the flaw could be triggered through various methods including malformed SWF files, embedded JavaScript within Flash content, or through manipulation of Flash Player's ActionScript runtime environment. The cross-platform nature of the vulnerability meant that attackers could target Windows, OS X, and Linux systems using the same exploitation techniques, while mobile platforms running Adobe AIR were also at risk. The memory corruption aspect indicated that the vulnerability likely involved improper handling of memory allocation during Flash Player's processing of multimedia content, potentially through unsafe pointer arithmetic or inadequate bounds checking in the Flash Player runtime. The vulnerability's classification as a heap-based memory corruption aligns with common exploitation patterns where attackers manipulate heap metadata to achieve code execution. The fact that this vulnerability was separate from other related CVEs in the same year suggests that it involved different code paths or underlying implementation flaws in Flash Player's memory management subsystem. The affected versions spanned multiple release lines, indicating that the vulnerability was present across several major Flash Player and AIR releases, making remediation efforts more complex and widespread.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was severe and far-reaching across enterprise networks, as Flash Player was ubiquitous in web browsers and corporate environments. Organizations running affected versions faced potential complete system compromise when users accessed malicious websites or opened compromised Flash content, with attackers able to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Flash Player process. The vulnerability's potential for denial of service meant that attackers could also disrupt business operations by causing Flash Player applications to crash or become unresponsive, leading to productivity losses and service interruptions. The cross-platform nature of the vulnerability required security teams to coordinate patching efforts across multiple operating systems and software versions, creating operational complexity in large enterprise environments. The vulnerability's exploitation could occur without user interaction in some cases, making it particularly dangerous as users might encounter malicious content while browsing normal websites. The memory corruption aspect meant that successful exploitation could lead to privilege escalation, allowing attackers to gain elevated system privileges and potentially establish persistent backdoors. This vulnerability particularly impacted organizations that relied heavily on Flash-based applications for business processes, as the exploitation risk was directly proportional to the frequency of Flash content usage. The lack of specific exploitation details in the CVE description suggested that the vulnerability had been actively exploited in the wild, making it a high-priority target for immediate remediation efforts.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate patching of all affected Flash Player and AIR installations across all supported platforms, with particular attention to the specific version numbers mentioned in the vulnerability description. Organizations should have implemented network-based controls to block Flash content from untrusted sources and deployed application whitelisting solutions to prevent execution of unauthorized Flash content. The vulnerability's nature as a memory corruption issue made it particularly suitable for exploit mitigation through address space layout randomization and data execution prevention mechanisms. Security teams should have conducted comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all systems running affected versions and prioritized patching based on risk exposure and business criticality. The remediation process required careful testing of patches to ensure compatibility with existing Flash-based applications and services, as Flash Player updates could potentially break existing functionality. Organizations should have implemented monitoring solutions to detect exploitation attempts and established incident response procedures for handling potential compromise events. The vulnerability's cross-platform nature necessitated coordinated patching efforts across Windows, OS X, and Linux systems, as well as mobile platforms running Adobe AIR. Additional security controls including web application firewalls and browser security extensions could have provided additional layers of protection against exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's presence across multiple release lines emphasized the importance of maintaining up-to-date software inventory systems and implementing automated patch management processes to prevent similar issues in the future. Organizations should have considered alternative solutions such as disabling Flash content entirely or migrating to HTML5-based alternatives to eliminate the risk associated with Flash-based vulnerabilities.