CVE-2015-6700 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
The setBackground function in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 10.x before 10.1.16 and 11.x before 11.0.13, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 2015.006.30094, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 2015.009.20069 on Windows and OS X allows attackers to obtain sensitive information from process memory via invalid arguments, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-6697, CVE-2015-6699, CVE-2015-6701, CVE-2015-6702, CVE-2015-6703, and CVE-2015-6704.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/22/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-6700 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within Adobe Reader and Acrobat software versions prior to specific patch releases. This vulnerability specifically affects the setBackground function implementation across multiple Adobe products including Reader 10.x versions before 10.1.16 and 11.x versions before 11.0.13, along with various Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic and Continuous versions. The flaw manifests when the setBackground function receives invalid arguments, creating a pathway for attackers to extract sensitive data from process memory. This vulnerability operates independently from several other related issues including CVE-2015-6697 through CVE-2015-6704, indicating a distinct code path and exploitation vector that requires separate remediation approaches.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the setBackground function implementation. When malformed or invalid arguments are passed to this function, the software fails to properly sanitize or validate these inputs before processing them, leading to memory access violations that can be leveraged by attackers to read arbitrary memory locations. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions where software reads memory beyond the intended boundaries, and also relates to CWE-20, which covers improper input validation scenarios. The flaw demonstrates a classic buffer over-read vulnerability pattern where the application does not properly check argument boundaries before attempting to access memory regions, potentially exposing sensitive information such as cryptographic keys, user credentials, or other confidential data stored in adjacent memory locations.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations relying on Adobe Reader and Acrobat for document processing and viewing. Attackers could potentially extract sensitive information from running processes, including but not limited to authentication tokens, personal identification information, or proprietary business data that might be stored in memory. The vulnerability's presence in widely deployed software across Windows and OS X platforms creates substantial risk exposure for enterprises, government agencies, and individual users who process potentially sensitive documents regularly. The information disclosure could enable further attacks including credential theft, privilege escalation, or targeted attacks against specific systems or individuals. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1005, which covers data from local system, and T1059, covering command and scripting interpreter, as attackers might use the leaked information to craft more sophisticated attacks or gain additional system access.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediate deployment of patches provided by Adobe for all affected versions of Reader and Acrobat software. Organizations should prioritize updating their systems to versions 10.1.16, 11.0.13, or the corresponding DC Classic and Continuous versions that contain the necessary fixes. System administrators should also implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and consider temporary restrictions on PDF processing capabilities where possible. Additional defensive measures include implementing application whitelisting policies, reducing user privileges when processing PDF documents, and conducting regular security assessments of document handling workflows. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and memory management practices in software development, particularly for applications handling untrusted input data such as PDF documents. Organizations should also consider implementing sandboxing mechanisms for PDF processing and regularly review their software update policies to ensure timely patch deployment across all systems.