CVE-2016-0988 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE • 01/25/2023
Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.333 and 19.x through 21.x before 21.0.0.182 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.577 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 21.0.0.176, Adobe AIR SDK before 21.0.0.176, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 21.0.0.176 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0987, CVE-2016-0990, CVE-2016-0991, CVE-2016-0994, CVE-2016-0995, CVE-2016-0996, CVE-2016-0997, CVE-2016-0998, CVE-2016-0999, and CVE-2016-1000.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/25/2023
The CVE-2016-0988 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Adobe Flash Player and related software components that affected multiple platform versions across Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. This vulnerability resides within the memory management mechanisms of Adobe's multimedia runtime environment and specifically targets the improper handling of memory objects that have already been freed, creating opportunities for malicious code execution. The issue impacts Flash Player versions prior to 18.0.0.333 and 19.x through 21.x before 21.0.0.182 on Windows and OS X platforms, while Linux versions were affected before 11.2.202.577. Additionally, the vulnerability extends to Adobe AIR runtime environments and their corresponding SDK components, all versions prior to 21.0.0.176. This particular vulnerability operates independently from several other related issues including CVE-2016-0987, CVE-2016-0990, CVE-2016-0991, CVE-2016-0994, CVE-2016-0995, CVE-2016-0996, CVE-2016-0997, CVE-2016-0998, CVE-2016-0999, and CVE-2016-1000, making it a distinct threat vector that required separate remediation efforts. The technical flaw stems from the improper memory deallocation process where objects are freed from memory but references to them remain accessible, allowing attackers to manipulate these dangling pointers to redirect execution flow. This memory corruption vulnerability falls under the CWE-416 category as defined by the Common Weakness Enumeration, specifically addressing use-after-free conditions that occur when a program continues to reference memory after it has been freed. The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables remote code execution attacks that can be leveraged by threat actors to gain complete system control without user interaction. Attackers can exploit this flaw through malicious web content or specially crafted files that trigger the vulnerable Flash Player functionality, potentially leading to full system compromise, data exfiltration, and persistent backdoor installation. The vulnerability's exploitation typically involves crafting specific memory layouts that cause the freed memory to be reallocated for malicious purposes, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Flash Player process. This threat vector aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 which covers the use of scripting languages for execution, as Flash Player's scripting capabilities provide the ideal environment for such exploitation. The widespread adoption of Flash Player across various platforms and applications made this vulnerability particularly dangerous, as it could be triggered through common web browsing activities, email attachments, or malicious websites. Organizations that had not yet migrated away from Flash-based content were especially vulnerable to this attack vector, as the exploit could be delivered through standard web traffic without requiring any special user interaction or privilege escalation. The remediation efforts required comprehensive updates to Adobe's Flash Player runtime, AIR runtime, and SDK components, with the affected versions being replaced by patched releases that addressed the memory management flaws. Security professionals recommended immediate patch deployment and the eventual deprecation of Flash Player technology due to its numerous security vulnerabilities, as the platform had become a prime target for sophisticated cyber attacks. This vulnerability highlighted the risks associated with complex multimedia runtime environments and the importance of proper memory management practices in software development, particularly when dealing with legacy technologies that continue to receive security updates despite their declining usage.