CVE-2016-6926 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE • 01/25/2023
Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.375 and 19.x through 23.x before 23.0.0.162 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.635 on Linux allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-4272, CVE-2016-4279, CVE-2016-6921, CVE-2016-6923, CVE-2016-6925, CVE-2016-6927, CVE-2016-6929, CVE-2016-6930, CVE-2016-6931, and CVE-2016-6932.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/02/2024
The CVE-2016-6926 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Adobe Flash Player that affected multiple versions across different operating systems. This vulnerability specifically impacted Windows and OS X systems running Flash Player versions before 18.0.0.375 and 19.x through 23.x before 23.0.0.162, as well as Linux systems before version 11.2.202.635. The flaw falls under the CWE-416 category of use-after-free conditions, which occur when a program continues to reference memory after it has been freed, creating potential exploitation opportunities for malicious actors.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management within the Flash Player runtime environment. When processing certain multimedia content or executing specific code sequences, the Flash Player would allocate memory for objects and subsequently free that memory while still maintaining references to it. Attackers could exploit this condition by crafting malicious Flash content that triggers the use-after-free scenario, potentially allowing them to manipulate the freed memory location to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Flash Player process. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be leveraged to bypass security restrictions and gain unauthorized access to systems.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-6926 was significant given Flash Player's widespread deployment across enterprise and consumer environments. The vulnerability could be exploited through web browsers or other applications that embedded Flash content, making it accessible to attackers through various attack vectors including malicious websites, phishing campaigns, or compromised web applications. The exploitability of this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter usage, as successful exploitation would likely involve executing malicious code within the target system's memory space. Organizations running affected versions of Flash Player faced substantial risk of unauthorized code execution, data compromise, and potential system takeover.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability primarily centered on immediate patching and version updates to Adobe Flash Player releases that addressed the memory management issues. System administrators were advised to deploy the latest security patches from Adobe as soon as they became available, typically through Adobe's official update channels or enterprise management systems. Additional protective measures included implementing browser security configurations that restricted Flash content execution, deploying web application firewalls to filter suspicious Flash content, and utilizing sandboxing technologies to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and the need for organizations to have robust patch management processes in place to address similar memory corruption vulnerabilities in other software components.