CVE-2015-8451 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-2015-8416, CVE-2015-8417, CVE-2015-8418, CVE-2015-8419, CVE-2015-8443, CVE-2015-8444, and CVE-2015-8455.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/30/2022
Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR products contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service attacks through unspecified attack vectors. This vulnerability affected multiple product versions across different operating systems including Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms. The flaw existed in the way these applications handled memory allocation and deallocation during processing of malicious content, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate memory structures and execute arbitrary code on affected systems. The vulnerability was distinct from several other related issues identified in the same timeframe, indicating a unique code path or memory handling mechanism that had not been previously exploited. The impact of this vulnerability extended beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as successful exploitation could result in complete system compromise through remote code execution. Attackers could leverage this weakness by delivering malicious Flash content or AIR applications that would trigger the memory corruption during normal processing operations. The vulnerability affected both the standalone Flash Player applications and the Adobe AIR runtime environment, making it particularly dangerous as it could be exploited through web browsers or desktop applications. Security researchers noted that the memory corruption occurred in areas where the applications managed dynamic memory allocation for multimedia content processing, creating potential for heap-based buffer overflows or use-after-free conditions. The vulnerability was particularly concerning because it affected multiple versions simultaneously, requiring users to update across several product lines to achieve full protection. Organizations running these applications were at risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, and system compromise when users visited malicious websites or opened compromised AIR applications. The attack surface was broad due to the widespread deployment of Flash Player across enterprise environments and consumer systems, making this vulnerability particularly impactful in real-world scenarios.
The technical nature of this memory corruption vulnerability aligns with common weaknesses identified in software security assessments, specifically relating to improper memory management and buffer overflow conditions that are categorized under CWE-122 and CWE-125. The vulnerability's exploitation pattern corresponds to techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1059.007 sub-technique for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers could potentially execute malicious code through compromised Flash content. The flaw's presence in both Flash Player and AIR environments suggests that the underlying memory management issues were systemic across Adobe's multimedia runtime components. The vulnerability required minimal user interaction to exploit, often only requiring a user to visit a malicious website that delivered Flash content containing the malicious payload. The memory corruption could be triggered through various attack vectors including malformed multimedia files, malicious web pages, or compromised AIR applications that leveraged the same underlying memory handling code paths.
Organizations and users needed to implement immediate remediation measures to protect against exploitation of this vulnerability, as the attack vectors were easily accessible through standard web browsing activities. The recommended mitigation strategy involved updating to the patched versions of Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, and related SDKs, which addressed the memory management issues through proper bounds checking and memory allocation safeguards. Security administrators should have prioritized patch deployment across all affected systems, particularly those with high-risk exposure such as web servers, desktop systems with Flash enabled, and enterprise environments where users regularly accessed untrusted websites. The vulnerability's exploitation potential made it a high-priority target for threat actors, particularly in targeted attacks against organizations with significant Flash usage. Additional protective measures included disabling Flash content in web browsers, implementing network-based protections such as web application firewalls, and monitoring for suspicious network traffic patterns associated with exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches across all multimedia and runtime environments, as the memory corruption issues could be exploited through multiple attack surfaces. Regular security assessments of deployed Flash content and AIR applications became essential to identify and remediate similar memory handling issues that could lead to similar exploitation scenarios. The incident reinforced the need for comprehensive vulnerability management programs that could quickly identify and address memory corruption vulnerabilities across diverse software ecosystems.