CVE-2015-8416 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
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 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-8045, CVE-2015-8047, CVE-2015-8060, CVE-2015-8408, CVE-2015-8417, CVE-2015-8418, CVE-2015-8419, CVE-2015-8443, CVE-2015-8444, CVE-2015-8451, and CVE-2015-8455.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/30/2022
Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR suffered from a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service attacks. This vulnerability existed in multiple product versions across different operating systems, specifically affecting Flash Player versions 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. The issue also impacted Adobe AIR versions before 20.0.0.204, along with corresponding SDK and compiler versions. The vulnerability stemmed from improper memory handling during the processing of certain Flash content, creating conditions where attacker-controlled data could corrupt memory structures and potentially lead to arbitrary code execution. This flaw represented a distinct vulnerability from several other reported issues in the same timeframe, indicating a separate code path or implementation error within the Flash runtime environment. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability aligns with common attack patterns described in the CWE database, particularly CWE-125 for out-of-bounds read conditions and CWE-787 for out-of-bounds write operations that can lead to memory corruption. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability posed significant risk to organizations relying on Flash content, as exploitation could result in complete system compromise, data exfiltration, or service disruption. The attack surface was broad due to Flash Player's widespread deployment across multiple platforms, making it an attractive target for threat actors seeking persistent access to enterprise networks. The vulnerability's classification under the ATT&CK framework would likely map to techniques involving privilege escalation and execution through malicious content delivery, with the potential for lateral movement once initial compromise occurred. Organizations needed to implement immediate patch management procedures to address this vulnerability, as the memory corruption nature suggested that exploitation could occur without user interaction, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments. The complexity of the attack vectors and the potential for remote code execution meant that this vulnerability required urgent attention from security teams, with recommended mitigations including disabling Flash content in web browsers and implementing network-based protections to block malicious Flash content from reaching endpoints.
The vulnerability's impact extended beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as the memory corruption could be leveraged to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Flash Player process. This typically meant that successful exploitation could lead to full system compromise, especially when Flash Player ran with elevated privileges. The affected versions spanned multiple release lines, indicating that the underlying memory management flaw was present across different codebases and development cycles, suggesting a fundamental architectural issue rather than a simple coding error. Security researchers noted that the vulnerability could be triggered through various attack vectors including malicious web pages, email attachments, or other Flash-based content, making it difficult to defend against entirely through traditional network filtering approaches. The fact that this vulnerability was separate from other reported issues in the same CVE batch indicated that it involved different code paths or memory handling routines within the Flash Player runtime, requiring specific patches to address rather than general security updates. Organizations implementing security controls needed to consider the broader implications of Flash Player's memory corruption vulnerabilities, as the potential for privilege escalation and persistent access made it a high-value target for advanced persistent threats. The remediation process required careful coordination between IT and security teams to ensure complete patch deployment across all affected systems, particularly given Flash Player's deep integration with web browsers and operating systems. The vulnerability's presence in both runtime environments and development tools meant that organizations needed to address patching efforts across multiple software stacks, adding complexity to the overall remediation process.