CVE-2016-1084 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-2016-1081, CVE-2016-1082, CVE-2016-1083, 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 including legacy and continuous delivery releases on both Windows and macOS platforms. The flaw represents a memory corruption issue that can be exploited by remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service conditions. Unlike other vulnerabilities in the same CVE family, this particular weakness involves distinct exploitation vectors that specifically target memory handling mechanisms within the Adobe applications. The vulnerability demonstrates characteristics consistent with heap-based buffer overflows or use-after-free conditions that are commonly classified under CWE-121 and CWE-125 categories in the Common Weakness Enumeration framework. These memory corruption vulnerabilities typically arise from insufficient bounds checking or improper memory management during PDF document processing operations.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when the affected Adobe applications process maliciously crafted PDF files containing specially constructed data structures that trigger memory corruption during parsing operations. Attackers can leverage this weakness by delivering malicious PDF documents through various attack vectors including email attachments, web downloads, or compromised websites. The memory corruption can manifest as stack corruption, heap corruption, or pointer dereference errors that lead to unpredictable application behavior. When successfully exploited, the vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected application, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability's impact is particularly severe because PDF readers are widely used across enterprise and consumer environments, making successful exploitation a high-value target for threat actors.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability represents a significant risk to organizations relying on Adobe Reader and Acrobat for document processing. The widespread adoption of these applications across different operating systems creates a broad attack surface that threat actors can exploit. The vulnerability's classification as a remote code execution flaw means that attackers do not require local system access to exploit the weakness, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users frequently open documents from untrusted sources. Organizations may experience service disruption due to denial of service conditions, while successful exploitation could lead to data breaches, privilege escalation, and persistent backdoor access to compromised systems. The vulnerability's persistence across multiple product versions indicates a fundamental flaw in the application's memory handling mechanisms that requires comprehensive patching across all affected releases.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patch deployment from Adobe's official security advisories, as the company released specific updates addressing this memory corruption issue in their affected product versions. Organizations should implement network-based controls such as PDF file filtering and sandboxing mechanisms to reduce exposure risk while patches are being deployed. Security teams should monitor for indicators of compromise related to PDF-based attacks and implement endpoint detection and response solutions to identify potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification aligns with ATT&CK techniques involving exploitation of software vulnerabilities and privilege escalation, making it important for security operations to track and respond to related threat intelligence. Additionally, user education regarding safe PDF handling practices and email security measures should be reinforced to minimize the risk of successful exploitation through social engineering vectors.