CVE-2016-1033 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE • 01/25/2023
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-2016-1028, CVE-2016-1029, and CVE-2016-1032.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/17/2024
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 18.0.0.343 on Windows and OS X and versions before 21.0.0.213 in the 19.x and 21.x release lines on Windows and OS X, along with versions before 11.2.202.616 on Linux, contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or induce denial of service conditions. This vulnerability represented a distinct threat vector from several other related issues within the same year, specifically excluding CVE-2016-1012 through CVE-2016-1032, indicating that attackers could exploit this flaw without triggering the mitigations or detection mechanisms associated with those other vulnerabilities. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of memory allocation and deallocation within the Flash Player runtime environment, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate memory structures through carefully crafted malicious content delivered via web browsers or other Flash-enabled applications.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability typically involved leveraging memory corruption flaws in the Flash Player's handling of multimedia content, particularly within the ActionScript execution environment and the underlying rendering pipeline. Attackers could craft malicious Flash files that would trigger buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or other memory management errors when the player attempted to process the content. These conditions could be exploited through various attack vectors including web-based delivery mechanisms where users would inadvertently trigger the malicious Flash content through standard web browsing activities. The vulnerability's impact extended beyond simple code execution to include potential system compromise and persistence mechanisms that could allow attackers to maintain access to compromised systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was significant given Flash Player's widespread deployment across enterprise environments and user systems, making it an attractive target for adversaries seeking to establish footholds in networks. Organizations running affected versions of Flash Player faced substantial risk of compromise through drive-by download attacks, where simply visiting a compromised website could result in automatic exploitation. The vulnerability's presence in multiple release lines including the major version branches 18.x, 19.x, and 21.x meant that a broad range of installations could be affected, complicating remediation efforts and requiring comprehensive patch management across diverse system inventories. Security professionals noted that the vulnerability's exploitation could result in complete system compromise, potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the user running the Flash Player application.
Organizations should have prioritized immediate patch deployment to address this vulnerability, as the risk of exploitation was high given Flash Player's ubiquity and the relative ease of crafting successful attacks against the memory corruption flaws. Mitigation strategies included disabling Flash Player entirely where possible, implementing web application firewalls to filter malicious content, and deploying exploit protection mechanisms that could detect and block known exploitation patterns. The vulnerability aligned with several ATT&CK framework techniques including T1059 for execution through legitimate system interfaces and T1068 for privilege escalation opportunities. From a CWE perspective, this vulnerability likely mapped to CWE-125 for out-of-bounds read conditions or CWE-787 for out-of-bounds write conditions, representing fundamental memory safety issues that could be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution. The patch release process required careful testing due to Flash Player's extensive integration with web browsers and system components, ensuring that updates did not introduce compatibility issues while effectively addressing the memory corruption flaws that enabled remote code execution.