CVE-2016-0968 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.329 and 19.x and 20.x before 20.0.0.306 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.569 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 20.0.0.260, Adobe AIR SDK before 20.0.0.260, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 20.0.0.260 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0964, CVE-2016-0965, CVE-2016-0966, CVE-2016-0967, CVE-2016-0969, CVE-2016-0970, CVE-2016-0972, CVE-2016-0976, CVE-2016-0977, CVE-2016-0978, CVE-2016-0979, CVE-2016-0980, and CVE-2016-0981.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/07/2022
Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR suffered from 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, macOS, and Linux platforms. The flaw manifested as a memory corruption issue that could be exploited by attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems. The vulnerability was distinct from several other related CVEs published in the same timeframe, indicating a separate code path or implementation flaw within the affected software components. The affected versions included Flash Player releases before 18.0.0.329 and 19.x and 20.x before 20.0.0.306 on Windows and macOS, and before 11.2.202.569 on Linux, along with corresponding Adobe AIR and AIR SDK versions. This memory corruption vulnerability aligns with common CWE categories such as CWE-125 out-of-bounds read and CWE-787 out-of-bounds write, which are frequently exploited in browser and runtime environment exploits. The attack surface was particularly concerning given Flash Player's widespread deployment and the typical privileges associated with running Flash content in web browsers. The vulnerability could be triggered through malicious web content or specially crafted files that would cause the Flash runtime to corrupt memory structures, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the Flash Player process. This type of vulnerability typically maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter and T1203 for Exploitation for Client Execution, as attackers would leverage the memory corruption to execute malicious code within the context of the Flash runtime. The impact extended beyond simple code execution to include potential denial of service conditions where system resources could be exhausted or corrupted, making the affected systems unstable or unusable. Organizations running these vulnerable versions faced significant risk as Flash Player remained a popular vector for delivering malicious content, particularly in enterprise environments where legacy applications might still rely on Flash functionality. The vulnerability required no user interaction beyond visiting a malicious webpage or opening a malicious file, making it particularly dangerous for widespread exploitation. Security researchers identified this as a critical issue requiring immediate patching of all affected versions to prevent potential exploitation by threat actors. The memory corruption aspect of the vulnerability meant that attackers could potentially bypass modern security mitigations such as ASLR and DEP through careful exploitation techniques. This vulnerability highlighted the ongoing security challenges with legacy software components and the importance of maintaining up-to-date runtime environments to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities. The affected software components were commonly used across enterprise environments, making the potential impact of this vulnerability substantial. Remediation efforts focused on updating to patched versions of Flash Player, AIR, and AIR SDK, with the specific patch versions providing protection against this memory corruption attack vector. Organizations needed to ensure comprehensive patch management across all systems running vulnerable versions to prevent exploitation and maintain system integrity. The vulnerability underscored the importance of regular security assessments and the need for organizations to maintain awareness of security advisories for all runtime environments and software components in their infrastructure.