CVE-2015-6677 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.241 and 19.x before 19.0.0.185 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.521 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 19.0.0.190, Adobe AIR SDK before 19.0.0.190, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 19.0.0.190 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-5575, CVE-2015-5577, CVE-2015-5578, CVE-2015-5580, CVE-2015-5582, and CVE-2015-5588.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/23/2024
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 18.0.0.241 on Windows and OS X, and 19.x versions before 19.0.0.185 on these platforms, along with Flash Player versions before 11.2.202.521 on Linux, as well as Adobe AIR versions before 19.0.0.190 including the corresponding SDK and Compiler versions, contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service attacks. This vulnerability represents a distinct issue from several other related CVEs published in the same timeframe, specifically excluding CVE-2015-5575, CVE-2015-5577, CVE-2015-5578, CVE-2015-5580, CVE-2015-5582, and CVE-2015-5588, indicating that attackers could exploit unspecified vectors to manipulate memory structures within the Flash Player runtime environment. The technical flaw manifests as a memory corruption issue that occurs during the processing of malformed or specially crafted content, allowing attackers to potentially overwrite memory locations with malicious code or cause application crashes through buffer overflows or heap corruption techniques. This vulnerability aligns with common weakness enumerations such as CWE-121, heap-based buffer overflow, and CWE-125, out-of-bounds read, which are frequently exploited in browser and runtime environment attacks. The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, and Linux systems where Flash Player is installed, making it a particularly dangerous exploit as it affects widely deployed software components. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on targeted systems with the privileges of the Flash Player process, potentially leading to full system compromise. The vulnerability's exploitation risk is elevated due to Flash Player's widespread installation base and its integration with web browsers, creating numerous attack vectors through malicious web content. Organizations running affected versions of Flash Player and AIR software faced significant security exposure, as the memory corruption issue could be triggered through standard web browsing activities without requiring user interaction beyond visiting compromised websites. The attack surface for this vulnerability includes web applications, email attachments, and any content that utilizes Flash Player for rendering, making it particularly challenging to defend against. From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability maps to multiple ATT&CK techniques including T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation, as successful exploitation could lead to elevated privileges and persistent access. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue places it within the category of zero-day exploits that require immediate patching and remediation efforts. Security researchers noted that the vulnerability's exploitation required sophisticated techniques to achieve reliable code execution, but the potential for remote code execution made it a high-priority target for threat actors. The affected software components represent critical infrastructure elements that are integral to web-based applications and multimedia content delivery. Organizations needed to implement immediate patch management strategies to address this vulnerability, as the memory corruption could be leveraged for advanced persistent threat campaigns. The vulnerability's presence in both Flash Player and AIR environments created additional complexity for security teams, as they had to manage patching across multiple software platforms and development tools. This issue highlighted the ongoing security challenges associated with legacy software platforms and the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches. The vulnerability's impact was particularly severe for enterprise environments where Flash Player was extensively used for business applications and web-based training materials. System administrators needed to prioritize this vulnerability in their security assessment and remediation activities, as it represented a significant risk to network security and data integrity. The exploitation of this vulnerability could result in complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and establishment of persistent backdoors. Security vendors and researchers emphasized the need for immediate action due to the vulnerability's potential for widespread exploitation and the difficulty in detecting such attacks. The vulnerability's resolution required careful coordination between Adobe and security vendors to ensure that patches were properly tested and deployed across affected systems. Organizations that had not yet migrated away from Flash Player technology were particularly vulnerable to this and similar memory corruption vulnerabilities. The incident underscored the importance of maintaining comprehensive software inventory management and proactive vulnerability assessment programs to identify and remediate such critical security issues. This vulnerability exemplified the risks associated with running outdated software components and demonstrated the necessity of implementing robust security controls to protect against memory corruption exploits. The affected versions represent a critical security gap that required immediate attention from security teams and system administrators across all affected platforms and operating systems.