CVE-2015-3098 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.292 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.160 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.466 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 18.0.0.144 on Windows and before 18.0.0.143 on OS X and Android, Adobe AIR SDK before 18.0.0.144 on Windows and before 18.0.0.143 on OS X, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 18.0.0.144 on Windows and before 18.0.0.143 on OS X allow remote attackers to bypass the Same Origin Policy via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3099 and CVE-2015-3102.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/20/2022
Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR products contain a critical security flaw that enables remote attackers to circumvent the Same Origin Policy mechanism, which serves as a fundamental security boundary in web browsers and applications. This vulnerability affects multiple product versions across different operating systems including Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms, with specific version ranges indicating the scope of affected software. The flaw allows attackers to bypass critical web security restrictions that normally prevent malicious code from accessing resources on different domains, effectively undermining the core security model that protects user data and system integrity.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves unspecified attack vectors that permit unauthorized cross-origin data access, enabling attackers to exploit the browser's security model through mechanisms that differ from other related vulnerabilities such as CVE-2015-3099 and CVE-2015-3102. This Same Origin Policy bypass represents a severe regression in web security controls, as it allows malicious actors to access sensitive information from different origins without proper authorization. The vulnerability exists within the core security architecture of Flash Player and AIR applications, where proper origin validation mechanisms fail to properly enforce access restrictions between different domains and applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it provides attackers with the capability to perform cross-site scripting attacks, data exfiltration, and potentially execute further malicious activities against affected systems. Attackers can leverage this flaw to access cookies, local storage, and other sensitive data that should normally be restricted to specific origins, creating opportunities for credential theft, session hijacking, and privilege escalation attacks. The vulnerability affects both web-based Flash content and native AIR applications, expanding the attack surface and increasing the potential impact across different execution environments.
Organizations should immediately apply the vendor-provided security patches to all affected versions of Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, and Adobe AIR SDK products across all supported platforms. System administrators should implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and consider temporary disabling of Flash content in web browsers until patches are deployed. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-346 (Origin Validation Error) and represents a critical weakness in access control mechanisms that should be addressed through proper security updates and configuration management practices. Security teams should also review their incident response procedures to prepare for potential exploitation of this vulnerability and consider implementing additional security controls such as web application firewalls and content security policies to mitigate the risk of cross-origin attacks.