CVE-2014-0560 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 10.x before 10.1.12 and 11.x before 11.0.09 on Windows and OS X allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/16/2022
The CVE-2014-0560 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw affecting Adobe Reader and Acrobat software across multiple versions. This vulnerability specifically impacts Windows and macOS operating systems, creating a significant security risk for organizations and individual users who rely on Adobe's document processing software. The flaw occurs within the memory management mechanisms of these applications, where freed memory blocks are accessed after being deallocated, potentially allowing malicious actors to manipulate program execution flow.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of memory allocation and deallocation processes within Adobe's PDF rendering engine. When processing maliciously crafted PDF files, the application fails to properly validate memory references, leading to situations where freed memory locations are accessed by subsequent operations. This use-after-free condition creates opportunities for attackers to inject and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the targeted user. The vulnerability's exploitation requires careful crafting of malicious PDF content that triggers the specific memory management flaw during document processing.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses severe risks to enterprise environments where Adobe Reader and Acrobat are extensively deployed for document handling and collaboration. Attackers can leverage this flaw through social engineering campaigns targeting end users with malicious PDF attachments, potentially compromising entire networks through initial access vectors. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond individual systems to encompass broader organizational security postures, as successful exploitation can lead to data breaches, privilege escalation, and lateral movement within network infrastructures. Organizations relying on Adobe's software for critical business operations face significant exposure during the vulnerability's active window.
The mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-0560 primarily involve immediate patching of affected Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions, with Adobe releasing updates to address the memory management issues. Security administrators should implement comprehensive patch management policies and consider temporary restrictions on PDF file processing until updates are deployed. Additionally, organizations should enhance their email filtering and web content security measures to prevent delivery of malicious PDF files to end users. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-416, which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions, and represents a common attack pattern that falls under the ATT&CK technique of "Exploitation for Privilege Escalation" within the privilege escalation category, demonstrating how memory corruption vulnerabilities can be leveraged for system compromise.