CVE-2016-1081 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
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 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-1037, CVE-2016-1063, CVE-2016-1064, CVE-2016-1071, CVE-2016-1072, CVE-2016-1073, CVE-2016-1074, CVE-2016-1076, CVE-2016-1077, CVE-2016-1078, CVE-2016-1080, CVE-2016-1082, CVE-2016-1083, CVE-2016-1084, CVE-2016-1085, CVE-2016-1086, CVE-2016-1088, CVE-2016-1093, CVE-2016-1095, CVE-2016-1116, CVE-2016-1118, CVE-2016-1119, CVE-2016-1120, CVE-2016-1123, CVE-2016-1124, CVE-2016-1125, CVE-2016-1126, CVE-2016-1127, CVE-2016-1128, CVE-2016-1129, CVE-2016-1130, CVE-2016-4088, CVE-2016-4089, CVE-2016-4090, CVE-2016-4093, CVE-2016-4094, CVE-2016-4096, CVE-2016-4097, CVE-2016-4098, CVE-2016-4099, CVE-2016-4100, CVE-2016-4101, CVE-2016-4103, CVE-2016-4104, and CVE-2016-4105.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/21/2024
This vulnerability affects Adobe Reader and Acrobat products across multiple versions, representing a critical memory corruption flaw that enables remote code execution or denial of service conditions. The vulnerability exists in the way these applications handle certain input data structures, specifically within their PDF parsing and rendering components. The flaw manifests when processing malformed or specially crafted PDF files that trigger memory corruption during document processing, potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected user. This vulnerability is distinct from numerous other CVEs in the same year, indicating a separate code path or implementation issue within Adobe's PDF processing engine.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with common software security weaknesses categorized under CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write conditions. These classifications reflect the memory corruption aspects where attackers can manipulate memory locations beyond their intended boundaries through carefully constructed input. The vulnerability's impact extends across both Windows and macOS operating systems, indicating a platform-agnostic nature that amplifies its threat surface. Attackers typically exploit such vulnerabilities by crafting malicious PDF documents that, when opened by an affected application, trigger the memory corruption through improper input validation or buffer handling.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations relying on Adobe Reader and Acrobat for document processing. The ability to execute arbitrary code remotely means that attackers could potentially gain full system compromise, escalate privileges, or establish persistent access points within network environments. The denial of service aspect further compounds the risk by potentially disrupting legitimate business operations through application crashes or unresponsiveness. Organizations with extensive PDF document handling workflows face particular exposure, as the attack surface includes any system where these applications are installed and used for document viewing or processing.
Security practitioners should implement immediate mitigations including prompt patching of affected Adobe products to version 11.0.16 or later for Reader and Acrobat, and version 15.006.30172 or later for the DC Classic and DC Continuous versions. Network segmentation and application whitelisting can provide additional defense layers by restricting execution of untrusted PDF files through Adobe applications. Email filtering solutions should be configured to scan PDF attachments for potentially malicious content, while regular security assessments should verify that all systems are updated. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK framework category T1203 (Exploitation for Client Execution) indicates that it represents a common attack pattern where adversaries leverage application vulnerabilities to achieve code execution on target systems. Organizations should also consider implementing endpoint detection and response solutions that can identify anomalous behavior patterns consistent with exploitation attempts, including unusual memory access patterns or process execution sequences that might indicate exploitation of this vulnerability.