CVE-2016-0981 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE • 01/26/2023
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-2016-0968, CVE-2016-0969, CVE-2016-0970, CVE-2016-0972, CVE-2016-0976, CVE-2016-0977, CVE-2016-0978, CVE-2016-0979, and CVE-2016-0980.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/26/2023
Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR suffered from a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service conditions across multiple platform versions. This vulnerability existed in Flash Player versions prior to 18.0.0.329 and 19.x and 20.x before 20.0.0.306 on Windows and OS X platforms, as well as in Flash Player versions before 11.2.202.569 on Linux systems. The affected Adobe AIR versions included those before 20.0.0.260 along with corresponding SDK and Compiler versions. The flaw manifested through unspecified attack vectors that differed from a series of other vulnerabilities in the same timeframe, indicating a distinct code path within the software's memory management system. This memory corruption issue typically occurred when processing specially crafted Flash content that would trigger buffer overflows or use-after-free conditions in the player's memory allocation routines. The vulnerability's exploitation could lead to complete system compromise through arbitrary code execution, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to affected systems. The impact was particularly severe given Flash Player's widespread deployment across enterprise environments and user systems, making it a prime target for zero-day exploitation. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write conditions. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability represented a significant threat to organizations relying on Flash-based applications, as it could be exploited through web browsers or other Flash content delivery mechanisms without requiring user interaction. The attack surface extended beyond simple web browsing to include email attachments, web-based applications, and any environment where Flash content was rendered. Organizations implementing defensive measures needed to prioritize immediate patching of affected versions, as the vulnerability was actively exploited in the wild. The remediation strategy required comprehensive system updates across all affected platforms, including both end-user systems and server environments that might deliver Flash content. Security teams should have implemented network-based detection measures to identify exploitation attempts and monitored for unusual memory allocation patterns that could indicate exploitation of this vulnerability. The incident highlighted the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software components and the inherent risks associated with legacy Flash-based applications. This vulnerability demonstrated how memory corruption flaws in multimedia frameworks could serve as entry points for sophisticated attacks, emphasizing the need for robust memory safety practices in software development. The exploitation techniques likely leveraged advanced code injection methods that took advantage of the memory corruption to overwrite critical program structures or execute malicious payloads directly within the Flash Player process space. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple versions and platforms indicated a fundamental flaw in the underlying memory management architecture that required comprehensive architectural review and remediation efforts. Organizations had to balance the immediate security risk with the operational impact of widespread Flash Player updates, particularly in environments where legacy applications depended heavily on Flash functionality. The vulnerability's classification as a remote code execution flaw placed it within the ATT&CK framework under the T1059.007 technique for command and scripting interpreter, as exploitation could enable attackers to execute arbitrary commands on compromised systems. This particular vulnerability underscored the challenges of securing complex multimedia frameworks and the critical need for regular security assessments of widely deployed software components. The remediation process required extensive testing to ensure that patching did not break existing Flash-based applications while simultaneously addressing the underlying memory corruption issue that could be exploited by threat actors.