CVE-2015-4429 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.302 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.203 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.481 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 18.0.0.180, Adobe AIR SDK before 18.0.0.180, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 18.0.0.180 allow attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) or possibly have unspecified other impact via unknown vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3126.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/24/2022
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 13.0.0.302 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.203 on Windows and OS X platforms, along with versions before 11.2.202.481 on Linux, as well as Adobe AIR versions before 18.0.0.180 and related SDK versions, contained a critical vulnerability that enabled attackers to execute denial of service attacks through null pointer dereference conditions. This vulnerability represented a distinct issue from CVE-2015-3126 and demonstrated the inherent instability of Flash Player's memory management systems. The flaw occurred when the application attempted to access memory through a null pointer reference, which caused the application to crash and terminate unexpectedly. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-476, which specifically addresses null pointer dereference conditions that can lead to application instability and potential system compromise.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involved crafting malicious Flash content that would trigger the null pointer dereference during normal execution flow. Attackers could deliver such payloads through various vectors including web browsers, email attachments, or compromised websites that hosted malicious Flash content. When a vulnerable Flash Player instance processed the crafted content, the application would attempt to access memory through an uninitialized or null pointer, resulting in a segmentation fault or access violation that terminated the process. The vulnerability's impact extended beyond simple denial of service as it could potentially enable more sophisticated attacks depending on the execution environment and system configuration. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability represented a significant risk to enterprise environments where Flash Player was widely deployed, as it could be exploited to disrupt legitimate business operations and potentially serve as a stepping stone for more advanced attacks.
Security researchers identified this issue as part of the broader class of memory corruption vulnerabilities that have historically plagued multimedia frameworks and browser plugins. The vulnerability's presence in multiple versions across different platforms indicated a fundamental flaw in the Flash Player's input validation and memory management mechanisms. Organizations using affected versions faced the risk of unauthorized service disruption and potential data exposure through the instability this vulnerability introduced. The attack surface was particularly broad given Flash Player's widespread deployment across both enterprise and consumer environments. From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligned with ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers legitimate program execution through the exploitation of process injection or memory corruption mechanisms. The vulnerability's classification as a NULL pointer dereference made it particularly dangerous as it could be exploited by attackers with minimal privileges to cause system instability. Organizations needed to implement immediate patch management procedures to address this vulnerability, as the exploitation could occur without user interaction in many scenarios. The vulnerability also highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and the risks associated with continued use of deprecated software components, particularly those with extensive attack surfaces like Flash Player.