CVE-2015-3079 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.289 and 14.x through 17.x before 17.0.0.188 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.460 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 17.0.0.172, Adobe AIR SDK before 17.0.0.172, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 17.0.0.172 allow attackers to bypass intended access restrictions and obtain sensitive information via unspecified vectors.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/11/2022
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 13.0.0.289 and 14.x through 17.x before 17.0.0.188 on Windows and OS X platforms, along with affected versions on Linux before 11.2.202.460, as well as Adobe AIR versions before 17.0.0.172 and corresponding SDK versions, contained a critical vulnerability that enabled attackers to circumvent intended access controls and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. This vulnerability falls under the category of information disclosure flaws that can be exploited to bypass security mechanisms designed to protect system resources and user data. The unspecified vectors in the original description suggest that the vulnerability could be triggered through multiple attack paths, potentially involving manipulation of Flash Player's security sandbox or exploitation of improper access control checks within the runtime environment.
The technical nature of this vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental weakness in Flash Player's access restriction implementation, where the security model failed to properly enforce boundaries between trusted and untrusted content. This type of flaw typically relates to improper validation of security contexts or insufficient sandbox enforcement mechanisms that should prevent malicious content from accessing local system resources or sensitive data. The vulnerability could be exploited by crafting specially designed Flash content that manipulates the player's security model to bypass normal access controls, potentially enabling attackers to read files, access system information, or extract sensitive data from the victim's machine. This weakness directly impacts the core security principles of isolation and privilege separation that are fundamental to secure application execution environments.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it represents a serious breach in the security architecture of Adobe's runtime environment. Attackers could leverage this flaw to perform reconnaissance activities, gather system information, and potentially establish persistence mechanisms within compromised systems. The vulnerability affects multiple platforms including Windows, OS X, and Linux, indicating a widespread exposure across different operating systems and highlighting the cross-platform nature of Flash Player's security architecture. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it allows attackers to bypass the security controls that should prevent malicious content from accessing sensitive information, potentially leading to data breaches, system compromise, or further exploitation opportunities. The vulnerability's presence in both Flash Player and AIR runtime environments suggests that the security flaw existed at a foundational level within Adobe's security model implementation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of all affected Adobe Flash Player and AIR versions, as well as comprehensive system updates to ensure that the security fixes are properly applied. Organizations should implement network-based controls to restrict Flash content execution where possible, and consider disabling Flash Player entirely in environments where it is not required for business operations. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts through anomalous behavior patterns in Flash Player processes, and incident response procedures should be updated to address potential information disclosure events. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control in software systems, and represents a significant risk under the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and defense evasion tactics. The flaw demonstrates how security controls can be bypassed through insufficient validation of access restrictions, making it a critical concern for organizations that continue to support legacy Flash content or systems that may be exposed to malicious Flash-based attacks.