CVE-2014-8441 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.252 and 14.x and 15.x before 15.0.0.223 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.418 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 15.0.0.356, Adobe AIR SDK before 15.0.0.356, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 15.0.0.356 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2014-0576, CVE-2014-0581, and CVE-2014-8440.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/24/2022
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 13.0.0.252 and 14.x and 15.x prior to 15.0.0.223 on Windows and OS X platforms, along with Adobe AIR versions before 15.0.0.356 and related SDK versions, contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service attacks. This vulnerability specifically affected systems running on Windows, OS X, and Linux operating systems, with distinct version thresholds for each platform. The flaw manifested through unspecified attack vectors that differed from previously identified vulnerabilities including CVE-2014-0576, CVE-2014-0581, and CVE-2014-8440, indicating a separate and distinct code path for exploitation. The memory corruption issue occurred within the Flash Player runtime environment, where improper handling of certain data structures led to unpredictable behavior that attackers could leverage to execute malicious code or cause system crashes. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities, both of which are common in memory management flaws within multimedia frameworks. The attack surface was particularly broad given Flash Player's widespread deployment across enterprise and consumer environments, making this vulnerability highly attractive to threat actors seeking to compromise systems through web-based attacks. The exploitation mechanism typically involved crafting specially formatted multimedia content or web pages that would trigger the memory corruption when processed by the vulnerable Flash Player component, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running the application. This vulnerability aligned with several tactics in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly those related to initial access through malicious web content and privilege escalation via code execution within the user context. The impact extended beyond individual user systems to enterprise environments where Flash Player was commonly deployed for business applications, webinars, and multimedia presentations, creating a significant attack surface for adversaries seeking persistent access. Organizations running affected versions faced potential compromise through drive-by downloads, malicious advertisements, or spear-phishing campaigns that delivered exploit code through Flash Player vulnerabilities. The remediation required immediate patching of all affected Adobe Flash Player installations and AIR applications across supported platforms, with particular attention to Linux systems where the vulnerable version threshold was set at 11.2.202.418. Security professionals needed to conduct comprehensive inventory checks to identify all systems running vulnerable versions and implement immediate mitigation strategies while waiting for official patches to be deployed. The vulnerability highlighted the inherent risks of legacy multimedia frameworks and underscored the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches across all software components, particularly those with extensive deployment and broad user interaction surfaces.