CVE-2016-4266 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-2016-4197, 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, CVE-2016-4254, CVE-2016-4265, CVE-2016-4267, CVE-2016-4268, CVE-2016-4269, and CVE-2016-4270.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/03/2024
Adobe Reader and Acrobat products have long been prime targets for cyber attackers due to their widespread use in enterprise environments and the complex nature of their document processing capabilities. This particular vulnerability affects multiple versions of Adobe's PDF processing software across both Windows and macOS platforms, creating a significant attack surface that spans from legacy installations to the latest continuous release versions. The vulnerability falls under the category of memory corruption issues that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service conditions, representing a critical security gap that has persisted across numerous software releases and update cycles.
The technical flaw manifests as an unspecified vector that leads to memory corruption within the Adobe Reader and Acrobat processing engines. Memory corruption vulnerabilities typically arise when applications fail to properly validate input data or manage memory allocation during document parsing operations. These issues often stem from buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or improper handling of malformed PDF objects that the software encounters during normal document processing. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue places it within the purview of common software security weaknesses that have been extensively documented in industry standards including CWE-125 for out-of-bounds read conditions and CWE-787 for out-of-bounds write conditions. The fact that this vulnerability operates through unspecified vectors suggests that multiple code paths within the PDF processing engine could potentially be exploited, making it particularly challenging to defend against and remediate.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations that rely heavily on Adobe Reader and Acrobat for document management and collaboration. Attackers could leverage this weakness to gain unauthorized code execution privileges on targeted systems, potentially leading to full system compromise through privilege escalation attacks. The memory corruption nature of the flaw also means that successful exploitation could result in application crashes or system instability, creating denial of service conditions that disrupt business operations. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where users frequently open PDF documents from untrusted sources, such as email attachments, web downloads, or shared network drives. The impact extends beyond individual user systems to enterprise networks where Adobe Reader is commonly deployed, potentially enabling attackers to establish persistent access points or move laterally within network environments. Organizations utilizing these vulnerable versions face increased risk of data breaches, system compromise, and operational disruption.
The remediation approach for this vulnerability requires immediate deployment of Adobe's security patches and updates across all affected systems. Organizations should prioritize updating to the latest versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat, specifically targeting the fixed releases mentioned in the CVE description. Security teams should implement comprehensive patch management processes to ensure all endpoints are protected, including both legacy installations and newer continuous release versions. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing additional security controls such as PDF content filtering, sandboxing mechanisms, and network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's presence in both classic and continuous release versions indicates that organizations must maintain awareness of their specific software deployment configurations and ensure consistent patching across all variants. This vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining current security awareness training for users to recognize potentially malicious PDF documents and avoid opening attachments from untrusted sources. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability exploitation under the T1059.007 technique for command and scripting interpreter, as successful exploitation would likely involve executing malicious code through the compromised PDF processing application, making it a critical target for defensive security measures and incident response planning.