CVE-2016-6985 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.382 and 19.x through 23.x before 23.0.0.185 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.637 on Linux allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-4273, CVE-2016-6982, CVE-2016-6983, CVE-2016-6984, CVE-2016-6986, CVE-2016-6989, and CVE-2016-6990.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/23/2022
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 18.0.0.382 and 19.x through 23.x before 23.0.0.185 on Windows and OS X platforms, along with versions before 11.2.202.637 on Linux systems, contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or induce denial of service conditions. This vulnerability represents a distinct security flaw separate from several other related issues within the same timeframe, including CVE-2016-4273, CVE-2016-6982, CVE-2016-6983, CVE-2016-6984, CVE-2016-6986, CVE-2016-6989, and CVE-2016-6990, each addressing different aspects of Flash Player's security architecture. The unspecified attack vectors involved memory corruption mechanisms that could be exploited through malformed Flash content delivered via web browsers or other Flash Player applications, potentially leading to complete system compromise when users interacted with malicious content. The vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 weakness category, which encompasses out-of-bounds read conditions that can result in memory corruption and arbitrary code execution. From an operational perspective, this flaw posed significant risk to enterprise environments where Flash Player remained enabled and actively used, as attackers could leverage it to gain unauthorized system access, escalate privileges, or disrupt service availability. The attack surface was particularly wide given Flash Player's widespread adoption across web browsers and its integration with various multimedia applications. Organizations utilizing affected versions faced potential exploitation through drive-by downloads, malicious advertisements, or compromised websites that delivered specially crafted Flash content designed to trigger the memory corruption. The vulnerability's impact extended beyond individual user systems to enterprise networks, as successful exploitation could lead to persistent malware installation, data exfiltration, or establishment of command and control channels. Security researchers classified this as a high-severity issue due to its potential for remote code execution and the ease with which attackers could craft malicious content to exploit the memory corruption flaw. The remediation approach required immediate patching of Flash Player installations across all affected platforms, with additional network-level protections such as web application firewalls and content filtering systems to block known malicious Flash content. Organizations should have implemented comprehensive vulnerability management processes to identify and remediate all affected systems, while also considering the broader implications of continuing to support Flash Player given its declining security posture and eventual deprecation by Adobe. This vulnerability demonstrated the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect against zero-day exploits targeting widely deployed software components. The incident highlighted the need for organizations to transition away from legacy technologies like Flash Player and adopt more secure modern web standards such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript frameworks that provide better security guarantees and reduced attack surfaces.