CVE-2016-4197 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.17, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30198, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 15.017.20050 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-2016-4191, CVE-2016-4192, CVE-2016-4193, CVE-2016-4194, CVE-2016-4195, CVE-2016-4196, CVE-2016-4198, CVE-2016-4199, CVE-2016-4200, CVE-2016-4201, CVE-2016-4202, CVE-2016-4203, CVE-2016-4204, CVE-2016-4205, CVE-2016-4206, CVE-2016-4207, CVE-2016-4208, CVE-2016-4211, CVE-2016-4212, CVE-2016-4213, CVE-2016-4214, CVE-2016-4250, CVE-2016-4251, CVE-2016-4252, and CVE-2016-4254.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/02/2022
Adobe Reader and Acrobat products have long been prime targets for cyber adversaries due to their widespread deployment and the privileged execution context they operate within. This vulnerability affects multiple versions of Adobe's document processing software across different platforms, specifically targeting versions prior to 11.0.17 for traditional Acrobat and Reader, and versions before 15.006.30198 for DC Classic and before 15.017.20050 for DC Continuous on both Windows and OS X operating systems. The flaw represents a memory corruption issue that can be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service conditions, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where these applications are commonly used to process sensitive documents.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of memory operations within the Adobe Acrobat and Reader applications. Memory corruption vulnerabilities typically occur when applications fail to properly validate input data or manage memory allocation and deallocation processes. This particular flaw allows attackers to manipulate memory structures through unspecified vectors, which suggests the vulnerability may be related to buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or other memory management errors that occur during document parsing or rendering operations. The fact that this vulnerability is distinct from a series of related CVEs indicates it involves a different code path or memory handling mechanism compared to previously discovered flaws in the same product line.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-4197 extends beyond simple exploitation capabilities as it represents a critical security weakness that can be leveraged by threat actors to gain unauthorized access to systems. Attackers can potentially execute malicious code with the privileges of the user running the affected Adobe application, which often runs with elevated permissions when processing documents. This vulnerability can be particularly devastating in corporate environments where employees regularly open PDF files from external sources, making it an attractive target for phishing campaigns or supply chain attacks. The denial of service aspect of this vulnerability further compounds the risk by potentially disrupting business operations through application crashes or system instability.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including prompt patching of affected Adobe products to address this vulnerability. The recommended approach involves updating to the latest versions of Adobe Acrobat and Reader as specified in the CVE details, which typically include memory management improvements and input validation enhancements. System administrators should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies to restrict execution of untrusted PDF files and deploy network monitoring solutions to detect potential exploitation attempts. From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow) and CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read) categories, and represents a technique that could be categorized under ATT&CK tactic TA0005 (Defense Evasion) and technique T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) when used for code execution. Additionally, organizations should conduct regular security assessments of their document processing workflows and implement sandboxing mechanisms to isolate potentially malicious PDF content.