CVE-2016-4165 in Brackets
Summary
by MITRE
The extension manager in Adobe Brackets before 1.7 allows attackers to have an unspecified impact via invalid input.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/27/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-4165 resides within Adobe Brackets' extension manager component, which serves as a critical interface for managing third-party extensions that enhance the functionality of this popular code editor. This flaw exists in versions prior to 1.7 and represents a significant security concern given that Brackets is widely used by developers for web application development and coding tasks. The extension manager functionality allows users to install, update, and manage various extensions that can modify the editor's behavior and capabilities, making it a prime target for exploitation.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the extension manager's processing logic. Attackers can craft malicious inputs that exploit this weakness to manipulate how the extension manager handles extension data, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or other unauthorized system behaviors. This represents a classic input validation flaw that falls under the CWE-20 category, specifically involving improper input validation where the system fails to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied data before processing it. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning because it could allow remote attackers to execute malicious code on systems running vulnerable versions of Brackets, potentially compromising developer workstations that may contain sensitive source code or development credentials.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-4165 extends beyond simple code execution, as it could enable attackers to gain persistent access to development environments where Brackets is actively used. Given that developers often work with sensitive source code, configuration files, and credentials within these environments, successful exploitation could lead to data breaches or further lateral movement within organizational networks. The vulnerability's unspecified impact classification suggests that the consequences could range from local privilege escalation to complete system compromise, depending on the specific attack vector and environmental factors. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059 which covers execution through command and scripting interpreters, as well as T1068 which involves exploit development for local privilege escalation.
Organizations and individual developers using Adobe Brackets should immediately upgrade to version 1.7 or later to mitigate this vulnerability, as the patch addresses the input validation issues that enable the exploitation. Additionally, administrators should consider implementing network monitoring to detect suspicious extension installation activities and ensure that only trusted extensions are installed within development environments. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining current software versions and implementing proper input validation controls in all software components that process user-supplied data. Security teams should also consider conducting vulnerability assessments of development environments to identify other potential entry points and ensure comprehensive protection against similar exploitation techniques that leverage improper input handling in software applications.