CVE-2015-8406 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.268 and 19.x and 20.x before 20.0.0.228 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.554 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 20.0.0.204, Adobe AIR SDK before 20.0.0.204, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 20.0.0.204 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-8048, CVE-2015-8049, CVE-2015-8050, CVE-2015-8055, CVE-2015-8056, CVE-2015-8057, CVE-2015-8058, CVE-2015-8059, CVE-2015-8061, CVE-2015-8062, CVE-2015-8063, CVE-2015-8064, CVE-2015-8065, CVE-2015-8066, CVE-2015-8067, CVE-2015-8068, CVE-2015-8069, CVE-2015-8070, CVE-2015-8071, CVE-2015-8401, CVE-2015-8402, CVE-2015-8403, CVE-2015-8404, CVE-2015-8405, CVE-2015-8410, CVE-2015-8411, CVE-2015-8412, CVE-2015-8413, CVE-2015-8414, CVE-2015-8420, CVE-2015-8421, CVE-2015-8422, CVE-2015-8423, CVE-2015-8424, CVE-2015-8425, CVE-2015-8426, CVE-2015-8427, CVE-2015-8428, CVE-2015-8429, CVE-2015-8430, CVE-2015-8431, CVE-2015-8432, CVE-2015-8433, CVE-2015-8434, CVE-2015-8435, CVE-2015-8436, CVE-2015-8437, CVE-2015-8441, CVE-2015-8442, CVE-2015-8447, CVE-2015-8448, CVE-2015-8449, CVE-2015-8450, CVE-2015-8452, and CVE-2015-8454.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/11/2024
The CVE-2015-8406 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Adobe Flash Player and related software components that existed across multiple platform versions and release cycles. This vulnerability falls under the common weakness enumeration CWE-416 which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions where program code continues to reference memory after it has been freed, creating potential exploitation opportunities for malicious actors. The affected software versions spanned across Flash Player releases before 18.0.0.268 and 19.x and 20.x before 20.0.0.228 on Windows and OS X platforms, while Linux versions were impacted before 11.2.202.554. Additionally, Adobe AIR and its associated SDK components were vulnerable before version 20.0.0.204, making this a comprehensive vulnerability affecting the entire Adobe multimedia ecosystem.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management within Adobe's runtime environment where objects were freed from memory but references to those objects persisted in the program execution flow. Attackers could exploit this condition by crafting malicious Flash content that would trigger the use-after-free scenario, potentially allowing them to manipulate memory contents and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Flash Player process. This particular vulnerability differs from numerous other related issues within the same timeframe, indicating a distinct code path or implementation flaw rather than a pattern of similar memory management errors. The exploitation mechanism typically involved leveraging the freed memory space to overwrite critical program structures or function pointers, ultimately enabling remote code execution capabilities.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-8406 was substantial given Flash Player's widespread deployment across enterprise and consumer environments. This vulnerability could be leveraged through web browsers when users visited compromised websites or opened malicious Flash content, making it particularly dangerous in phishing campaigns and drive-by download scenarios. The attack surface was extensive since Flash Player was integrated into most web browsers and supported various multimedia applications across operating systems. Organizations using older versions of Adobe AIR and AIR SDK components were also at risk, as these tools were commonly used for developing and deploying rich internet applications that could be targeted through this vulnerability.
Security practitioners and organizations should have immediately applied patches and updates to all affected versions of Adobe Flash Player, AIR, and AIR SDK components to mitigate this vulnerability. The remediation process required careful coordination between IT departments and security teams to ensure all vulnerable software installations were updated across enterprise environments. The vulnerability's classification under the ATT&CK framework would place it within the technique category of privilege escalation and code execution, specifically targeting the execution of malicious code through compromised application processes. Organizations implementing security controls should have also considered network-based detection measures to identify and block malicious Flash content attempting to exploit this vulnerability, while maintaining awareness of the broader attack landscape that included numerous related vulnerabilities within the same timeframe.