CVE-2016-4113 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player 21.0.0.213 and earlier, as used in the Adobe Flash libraries in Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 and 11 and Microsoft Edge, has unknown impact and attack vectors, a different vulnerability than other CVEs listed in MS16-064.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/16/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-4113 represents a significant security flaw within Adobe Flash Player versions 21.0.0.213 and earlier, specifically affecting Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 and 11, as well as Microsoft Edge browsers. This issue resides within the Adobe Flash libraries that are integrated into these Microsoft browser environments, creating a complex attack surface that spans both Adobe's proprietary multimedia platform and Microsoft's browser ecosystem. The vulnerability's classification as unspecified indicates that the exact technical details were not publicly disclosed at the time of the initial report, making it particularly concerning for security professionals who must assess risk without complete information about the underlying flaw.
The technical nature of this vulnerability places it within the realm of browser-based exploitation, where Flash Player components interact with the browser's rendering engine and security model. This type of vulnerability typically arises from memory corruption issues, buffer overflows, or improper input validation within Flash Player's handling of multimedia content. The fact that it affects multiple Microsoft browsers suggests a systemic issue within how these browsers integrate and execute Flash content, potentially through shared libraries or common execution paths that process Flash objects. Such integration points often become attack vectors because they must maintain compatibility while providing security boundaries between the browser's core functionality and potentially malicious content.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-4113 extends beyond simple exploitation, as it represents a potential pathway for attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution within the context of the victim's browser session. This capability allows adversaries to bypass traditional security controls and potentially escalate privileges, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users may have elevated access rights. The vulnerability's presence in Internet Explorer 10 and 11, which were still widely used in 2016, meant that organizations with legacy browser support requirements faced significant exposure. Additionally, the fact that it differs from other vulnerabilities in MS16-064 indicates that this represents a unique code path or attack surface that requires separate mitigation strategies, complicating the security response for affected organizations.
Security professionals addressing this vulnerability must consider the broader implications of Flash Player's role in modern browser environments, particularly the challenges of maintaining compatibility while ensuring security. The vulnerability's classification as unspecified aligns with certain attack techniques that leverage unknown or undocumented code paths, making it particularly difficult to defend against using conventional signature-based detection methods. Organizations implementing mitigations should consider both immediate patching strategies and longer-term architectural changes that reduce dependency on potentially vulnerable Flash components. The vulnerability's impact on Microsoft Edge, which was rapidly evolving from a new browser to a significant platform component, suggests that the attack surface extended beyond traditional desktop browsers into newer browser architectures. This situation highlights the importance of comprehensive vulnerability management that considers not only the primary software components but also the complex integration points that exist between different software layers in modern browser ecosystems. The vulnerability's relationship to other CVEs in MS16-064 demonstrates how security issues often cluster around common software components, requiring coordinated response strategies that address multiple related vulnerabilities simultaneously.