CVE-2015-5103 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 execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3095, CVE-2015-5087, CVE-2015-5094, CVE-2015-5100, CVE-2015-5102, CVE-2015-5104, and CVE-2015-5115.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/21/2024
This vulnerability represents a critical memory corruption flaw affecting multiple versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat software across Windows and macOS platforms. The vulnerability exists in the handling of unspecified input vectors within the PDF parsing engine, creating potential pathways for remote code execution or denial of service conditions. The affected versions include Adobe Reader and Acrobat 10.x prior to 10.1.15, 11.x prior to 11.0.12, as well as specific builds of Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic and Continuous. This vulnerability operates independently from several other related issues including CVE-2015-3095, CVE-2015-5087, CVE-2015-5094, CVE-2015-5100, CVE-2015-5102, CVE-2015-5104, and CVE-2015-5115, indicating a distinct code path or parsing mechanism that introduces memory corruption.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory handling during PDF document processing, specifically within the software's parser that interprets PDF objects and structures. When processing malformed or specially crafted PDF files, the application fails to properly validate memory allocations and deallocations, leading to potential buffer overflows, heap corruption, or pointer manipulation that can be exploited by attackers. This type of memory corruption vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-122, which covers buffer overflow conditions. The vulnerability's exploitation potential is significant as it can lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running the vulnerable application, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users frequently open PDF documents from untrusted sources.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations relying on Adobe Reader and Acrobat for document processing and sharing. Attackers could leverage this flaw through spear-phishing campaigns, malicious PDF attachments, or compromised websites serving malicious content to gain unauthorized access to systems. The vulnerability's presence in both classic and continuous delivery versions of Adobe Acrobat DC means that organizations using either distribution model remain at risk, potentially affecting thousands of endpoints across enterprise networks. The memory corruption nature of the vulnerability also means that successful exploitation could result in system instability, application crashes, or complete system compromise, depending on the execution environment and privilege levels of the targeted user.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including applying the vendor patches released for Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions 10.1.15, 11.0.12, and the corresponding DC versions. System administrators should prioritize patch deployment across all affected platforms and consider implementing additional security controls such as PDF content filtering, sandboxing mechanisms, and restricted file type handling. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers Exploitation for Client Execution, indicates that defensive measures should include network-based intrusion detection systems capable of identifying suspicious PDF file patterns and behavioral analysis tools that can detect anomalous application behavior during PDF processing. Additionally, user education regarding the risks of opening PDF documents from unknown sources remains crucial in reducing the attack surface, particularly in environments where users may encounter malicious payloads through social engineering or compromised email systems.