CVE-2015-3099 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-2015-3098 and CVE-2015-3102.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/20/2022
Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR products contained a critical security flaw that enabled remote attackers to circumvent the Same Origin Policy mechanism, a fundamental web security principle that prevents unauthorized access to resources across different domains. This vulnerability affected multiple versions across different operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms, with specific affected version ranges that required immediate attention from security administrators and system operators. The flaw represented a significant bypass of web security controls that had been implemented to protect users from cross-site scripting attacks and unauthorized data access attempts. The vulnerability's impact extended beyond traditional web browsing scenarios into desktop applications and mobile environments, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where users might encounter malicious Flash content in various contexts.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involved unspecified vectors that allowed attackers to exploit weaknesses in how Flash Player and AIR handled cross-domain resource access. This bypass mechanism operated independently from other related vulnerabilities such as CVE-2015-3098 and CVE-2015-3102, indicating a distinct attack surface that required specific remediation approaches. The Same Origin Policy is a core security feature defined by web standards and implemented across all major browsers, serving as a critical barrier against malicious code attempting to access sensitive data from different origins. When this policy is successfully bypassed, attackers gain the ability to access resources that should be restricted to specific domains, potentially leading to data exfiltration, session hijacking, or further exploitation of compromised systems. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control mechanisms, and represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege that governs secure application design.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was substantial as it enabled attackers to execute sophisticated attacks against users of affected software versions. Attackers could craft malicious Flash content that would bypass security restrictions and access resources that should have been protected by the Same Origin Policy. This capability significantly increased the attack surface for potential exploitation and allowed for more advanced persistent threats that could operate undetected within compromised environments. Organizations relying on Flash-based applications or content were particularly vulnerable, as the flaw could be exploited through various attack vectors including malicious websites, email attachments, or compromised web applications. The cross-platform nature of the vulnerability meant that security teams needed to implement comprehensive patch management strategies across multiple operating systems and software variants, creating additional operational complexity for IT security teams.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate patch deployment across all affected systems, with security administrators prioritizing the update of Adobe Flash Player and AIR products to versions that addressed the specific bypass mechanism. Organizations should have implemented network monitoring to detect suspicious Flash content usage and deployed additional security controls such as content filtering and web application firewalls to provide defense in depth. The vulnerability highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and demonstrated the risks associated with using deprecated or unsupported software components. Security teams needed to conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all systems running affected versions of the software and establish processes for regular security updates. This incident reinforced the necessity of implementing automated patch management systems and regular security audits to prevent similar vulnerabilities from compromising organizational security posture. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this vulnerability under privilege escalation and defense evasion techniques, as it allowed attackers to bypass security controls that should have prevented unauthorized access to system resources.