CVE-2016-1028 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE • 01/26/2023
Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.343 and 19.x through 21.x before 21.0.0.213 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.616 on Linux allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-1012, CVE-2016-1020, CVE-2016-1021, CVE-2016-1022, CVE-2016-1023, CVE-2016-1024, CVE-2016-1025, CVE-2016-1026, CVE-2016-1027, CVE-2016-1029, CVE-2016-1032, and CVE-2016-1033.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/17/2024
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to specific patched releases contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service conditions. This vulnerability affected Windows and macOS systems running Flash Player versions before 18.0.0.343 and 19.x through 21.x before 21.0.0.213, as well as Linux systems before 11.2.202.616. The flaw manifested through unspecified attack vectors that differed from other contemporaneous vulnerabilities in the same vulnerability family, indicating a distinct code path or memory handling issue within the Flash Player runtime environment.
The technical nature of this vulnerability falls under memory corruption patterns that are commonly categorized as CWE-125, which represents "Out-of-bounds Read" conditions, or potentially CWE-787, "Out-of-bounds Write" scenarios. These memory corruption issues typically arise when applications fail to properly validate memory access boundaries, allowing attackers to manipulate heap or stack memory through crafted input or malformed content. The vulnerability's exploitation potential stems from Flash Player's extensive processing capabilities for multimedia content, which creates numerous entry points for malicious actors to inject and execute arbitrary code on vulnerable systems.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presented significant risk to enterprise environments where Flash Player remained installed on systems, particularly given the widespread use of Flash-based web content during that time period. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to gain remote code execution privileges, potentially leading to full system compromise, data exfiltration, or establishment of persistent backdoors. The denial of service component meant that even successful exploitation without code execution could render systems unusable through memory corruption that caused application crashes or system instability.
Security professionals and system administrators should have prioritized immediate patch deployment for affected Flash Player versions, as the vulnerability represented a critical threat level that could be exploited without user interaction. The remediation strategy involved updating to patched versions of Flash Player, with additional network-level protections such as content filtering and sandboxing measures. Organizations should have implemented comprehensive vulnerability management processes to identify and remediate all instances of the vulnerable Flash Player versions across their infrastructure, particularly in environments where legacy Flash content remained necessary for business operations. This vulnerability exemplified the ongoing security challenges associated with multimedia runtime environments and highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches for widely deployed software components.
The vulnerability's classification aligns with ATT&CK framework techniques such as T1059 for command and scripting interpreter usage, and T1203 for exploitation for privilege escalation, as attackers could leverage the memory corruption to execute malicious code with elevated privileges. Additionally, the vulnerability's nature as a remote code execution flaw fits within the T1210 technique category for exploitation of remote services, particularly when Flash content was embedded in web applications or delivered through compromised websites. Organizations implementing defensive measures should have considered network segmentation, web application firewalls, and user education to reduce exposure to such vulnerabilities in their environments.