CVE-2016-1002 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
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 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0960, CVE-2016-0961, CVE-2016-0962, CVE-2016-0986, CVE-2016-0989, CVE-2016-0992, and CVE-2016-1005.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/26/2024
Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR products contain a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enables remote code execution attacks on affected systems. This vulnerability exists in multiple versions across different operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. The flaw manifests through unspecified attack vectors that differ from several other recently disclosed vulnerabilities in the same product line, indicating a distinct code path that requires separate remediation efforts. The memory corruption issue allows attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected application or cause denial of service conditions through controlled memory manipulation.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory handling within the Flash Player and AIR runtime environments. When processing specially crafted content, the affected software fails to properly validate memory operations, leading to buffer overflows or other memory corruption conditions that can be exploited by malicious actors. This type of vulnerability typically falls under the CWE-121 category of "Stack-based Buffer Overflow" or CWE-122 "Heap-based Buffer Overflow" classifications, representing common attack surfaces in multimedia and runtime environments. The vulnerability affects not just the end-user Flash Player installations but also the development environments including Adobe AIR SDK and compiler tools, amplifying the potential impact across the entire Adobe ecosystem.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple exploitation scenarios as it affects a wide range of deployment environments including enterprise networks, web applications, and mobile platforms. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to systems, execute malicious payloads, and potentially establish persistent footholds within target environments. The vulnerability's presence in both runtime and development tools means that security professionals must consider remediation across multiple attack surfaces simultaneously. Organizations running legacy systems or those with extended support cycles face particular risk as the vulnerability affects versions that may still be in production use. The memory corruption characteristics also make this vulnerability particularly challenging to detect and mitigate as it may not immediately manifest in obvious system behavior, allowing attackers to maintain stealth while establishing command and control capabilities.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patch deployment across all affected Adobe products and platforms. System administrators should prioritize updating Flash Player to version 18.0.0.333 or later, and 21.0.0.182 or later for the affected 21.x releases, while also updating Adobe AIR to version 21.0.0.176 or later. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of updated environments to ensure compatibility with existing applications and content. Network administrators should implement additional monitoring for suspicious Flash-related activity and consider implementing web application firewalls or content filtering solutions to block potentially malicious Flash content. Organizations should also review their software inventory to identify any legacy installations that may still be vulnerable, particularly in environments where Flash content remains active. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: Visual Basic" and T1059.006 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell" indicates that exploitation may involve scripting languages commonly used in attack chains. Security teams should also consider implementing sandboxing mechanisms for Flash content execution and establishing incident response procedures specifically designed to handle memory corruption vulnerabilities. Given the nature of memory corruption flaws, additional defensive measures such as address space layout randomization and data execution prevention should be enabled to reduce exploitation success rates.