CVE-2014-8450 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Reader and Acrobat 10.x before 10.1.15 and 11.x before 11.0.12, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 2015.006.30060, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 2015.008.20082 on Windows and OS X allow attackers to bypass intended access restrictions and obtain sensitive information via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-4449, CVE-2015-4450, CVE-2015-5088, CVE-2015-5089, and CVE-2015-5092.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/01/2022
This vulnerability represents a critical access control flaw in Adobe Reader and Acrobat products that enables unauthorized information disclosure through unspecified attack vectors. The affected versions include Adobe Reader 10.x prior to 10.1.15 and 11.x prior to 11.0.12, along with various Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic and Continuous versions released before specific patch levels. The vulnerability falls under the broader category of insufficient access control mechanisms, which aligns with CWE-284 access control weaknesses that permit unauthorized access to protected resources. This particular flaw differs from several other vulnerabilities in the same timeframe, specifically CVE-2015-4449, CVE-2015-4450, CVE-2015-5088, CVE-2015-5089, and CVE-2015-5092, indicating a distinct attack surface that requires separate remediation approaches.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability appears to involve a failure in the application's permission checking mechanisms or privilege escalation controls that should normally prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information within PDF documents or system resources. Attackers can exploit this weakness to bypass intended access restrictions that would normally be enforced by the software's security model, potentially gaining access to information that should remain protected. This type of vulnerability typically operates at the application layer and may involve manipulation of access tokens, privilege levels, or security context switches that should normally be enforced by the software's security architecture. The unspecified vectors suggest the attack could occur through multiple pathways including malformed PDF content, embedded scripts, or manipulation of document permissions that the software fails to properly validate.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks that could compromise user data, system integrity, or confidentiality. Attackers could leverage this weakness to access sensitive documents, personal information, or business-critical data that should be protected by the software's access controls. The vulnerability affects both Windows and OS X platforms, indicating it operates at the application layer rather than being platform-specific, which increases its attack surface and potential impact across different environments. Organizations using affected Adobe products face significant risk of data breaches, especially in environments where sensitive information is stored in PDF format or where users have access to restricted documents through these applications.
Security professionals should implement immediate mitigations including patching affected systems to the latest Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions, which address the underlying access control flaws. The vulnerability's classification as an access control weakness aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 legitimate credentials, as attackers could potentially use this vulnerability to gain access to systems or data that would normally require proper authentication. Organizations should also consider network segmentation, application whitelisting, and monitoring for unusual access patterns or attempts to access restricted information through Adobe applications. Additional defensive measures include implementing least privilege principles for Adobe Reader usage, disabling unnecessary features like JavaScript execution, and conducting regular security assessments to identify potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple product versions and release cycles underscores the importance of maintaining current security patches and implementing comprehensive software update management processes to prevent exploitation of similar access control weaknesses.