CVE-2016-4246 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE • 01/25/2023
Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.366 and 19.x through 22.x before 22.0.0.209 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.632 on Linux allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-4172, CVE-2016-4175, CVE-2016-4179, CVE-2016-4180, CVE-2016-4181, CVE-2016-4182, CVE-2016-4183, CVE-2016-4184, CVE-2016-4185, CVE-2016-4186, CVE-2016-4187, CVE-2016-4188, CVE-2016-4189, CVE-2016-4190, CVE-2016-4217, CVE-2016-4218, CVE-2016-4219, CVE-2016-4220, CVE-2016-4221, CVE-2016-4233, CVE-2016-4234, CVE-2016-4235, CVE-2016-4236, CVE-2016-4237, CVE-2016-4238, CVE-2016-4239, CVE-2016-4240, CVE-2016-4241, CVE-2016-4242, CVE-2016-4243, CVE-2016-4244, and CVE-2016-4245.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/04/2024
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 18.0.0.366 and 19.x through 22.x before 22.0.0.209 on Windows and OS X platforms, as well as versions before 11.2.202.632 on Linux systems, contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service attacks. This vulnerability represented a distinct threat vector from numerous other CVEs in the same year, specifically excluding CVE-2016-4172 through CVE-2016-4245, which indicates that the flaw was not part of the same exploitation chain as these related vulnerabilities. The unspecified attack vectors within this particular CVE suggest that attackers could leverage memory corruption techniques to gain unauthorized system access or cause service disruption, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability's presence in multiple Flash Player versions across different operating systems demonstrates the widespread nature of the flaw and its potential impact on diverse user bases. From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with common attack patterns documented in the ATT&CK framework under initial access and execution phases, where adversaries exploit software vulnerabilities to establish persistent access to target systems.
The technical nature of this memory corruption vulnerability stems from improper handling of memory operations within the Flash Player runtime environment, particularly affecting how the application processes multimedia content and handles memory allocation during object manipulation. This flaw likely manifested through buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or other memory management errors that could be triggered when processing malformed Flash content. The vulnerability's exploitation potential extends beyond simple denial of service to full remote code execution capabilities, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where Flash Player remains in use. Security researchers have identified this type of vulnerability as consistent with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write conditions, both of which are common in memory corruption scenarios. The attack surface for this vulnerability encompasses web browsers that integrate Flash Player, as well as any applications that embed the Flash runtime for multimedia content delivery.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across multiple threat vectors and attack scenarios, particularly affecting organizations that continued to rely on Flash Player for legacy applications or web content delivery. Attackers could craft malicious Flash files or exploit existing web content to trigger the memory corruption, potentially leading to complete system compromise without user interaction. The vulnerability's presence in both Windows and OS X platforms indicates that attackers could leverage the same exploit across different operating systems, increasing the potential attack surface. Organizations that had not yet migrated from Flash-based content were particularly vulnerable to this type of attack, as the exploit could be delivered through standard web browsing activities. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue places it within the category of advanced persistent threats that could be weaponized by sophisticated attackers. Network security teams would need to implement comprehensive monitoring and detection capabilities to identify exploitation attempts, as the attack patterns could be subtle and difficult to distinguish from normal system behavior.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate patching of affected Flash Player versions, as well as broader security measures to reduce exposure to potentially malicious Flash content. Organizations should have implemented browser security policies that disabled Flash content by default or restricted Flash execution to trusted domains only. The remediation process involved updating to patched versions of Flash Player that addressed the specific memory corruption issues, with the patched versions containing improved memory management routines and validation checks. Security teams needed to monitor for exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and endpoint detection systems, particularly looking for unusual memory access patterns or process behavior that might indicate exploitation. Additionally, organizations should have considered complete removal of Flash Player from systems where it was not absolutely required for legacy application functionality. The vulnerability highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing layered security approaches that reduce the attack surface for legacy software components. Organizations that had already transitioned to modern web standards and technologies were less affected by this vulnerability, demonstrating the critical importance of migrating away from deprecated technologies that continue to present security risks.