CVE-2016-1068 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.16, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30172, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 15.016.20039 on Windows and OS X allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-1045, CVE-2016-1046, CVE-2016-1047, CVE-2016-1048, CVE-2016-1049, CVE-2016-1050, CVE-2016-1051, CVE-2016-1052, CVE-2016-1053, CVE-2016-1054, CVE-2016-1055, CVE-2016-1056, CVE-2016-1057, CVE-2016-1058, CVE-2016-1059, CVE-2016-1060, CVE-2016-1061, CVE-2016-1065, CVE-2016-1066, CVE-2016-1067, CVE-2016-1069, CVE-2016-1070, CVE-2016-1075, CVE-2016-1094, CVE-2016-1121, CVE-2016-1122, CVE-2016-4102, and CVE-2016-4107.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/20/2024
This use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat products represents a critical memory safety flaw that enables remote code execution under specific conditions. The vulnerability affects multiple product versions including the legacy 11.0.16 release and various DC Classic and Continuous versions, spanning both Windows and macOS operating systems. The flaw occurs when the application processes certain malformed input data, leading to improper memory management where freed memory locations are subsequently accessed, creating exploitable conditions for malicious actors.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-416, which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions in software applications. This memory safety issue arises from the application's failure to properly validate or manage memory references after objects have been deallocated from memory. Attackers can leverage this weakness by crafting malicious PDF documents that trigger the vulnerable code path, causing the application to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the software. The exploit mechanism typically involves manipulating object references within the PDF parsing process to force the application into accessing freed memory regions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to enterprise environments where Adobe Reader and Acrobat are widely deployed for document processing and viewing. The attack surface is extensive given the prevalence of PDF files in business communications, email attachments, and web downloads. Security analysts note that exploitation often requires user interaction through opening malicious documents, making social engineering components part of the attack chain. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK framework as a privilege escalation or code execution technique demonstrates its potential for establishing persistent access and lateral movement within compromised systems.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Adobe products to mitigate this risk, as the vulnerability has been actively exploited in the wild. The recommended mitigation strategy includes implementing application whitelisting controls, deploying sandboxing solutions for PDF processing, and establishing network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious PDF-related traffic patterns. Additionally, user education programs should emphasize the importance of only opening PDF files from trusted sources and maintaining current software versions. Security teams should also consider implementing automated patch management processes to ensure rapid deployment of security updates across all affected systems, as this vulnerability has been identified as a common entry point for advanced persistent threats targeting enterprise networks.