CVE-2016-6995 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.18, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30243, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 15.020.20039 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-2016-6940, CVE-2016-6941, CVE-2016-6942, CVE-2016-6943, CVE-2016-6947, CVE-2016-6948, CVE-2016-6950, CVE-2016-6951, CVE-2016-6954, CVE-2016-6955, CVE-2016-6956, CVE-2016-6959, CVE-2016-6960, CVE-2016-6966, CVE-2016-6970, CVE-2016-6972, CVE-2016-6973, CVE-2016-6974, CVE-2016-6975, CVE-2016-6976, CVE-2016-6977, CVE-2016-6978, CVE-2016-6996, CVE-2016-6997, CVE-2016-6998, CVE-2016-7000, CVE-2016-7001, CVE-2016-7002, CVE-2016-7003, CVE-2016-7004, CVE-2016-7005, CVE-2016-7006, CVE-2016-7007, CVE-2016-7008, CVE-2016-7009, CVE-2016-7010, CVE-2016-7011, CVE-2016-7012, CVE-2016-7013, CVE-2016-7014, CVE-2016-7015, CVE-2016-7016, CVE-2016-7017, CVE-2016-7018, and CVE-2016-7019.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/18/2024
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 in. This particular vulnerability affects multiple versions of Adobe's document processing software across both Windows and macOS platforms, creating a significant attack surface that could be exploited by threat actors. The vulnerability stems from memory corruption issues that can be triggered through unspecified attack vectors, making it particularly challenging to defend against without comprehensive patch management. The affected versions include legacy releases such as Adobe Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.18, as well as various iterations of the DC Classic and DC Continuous editions, indicating this represents a persistent flaw that spans multiple product lines and release cycles.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests as memory corruption, which represents a fundamental flaw in how the software manages memory allocation and deallocation. Memory corruption vulnerabilities typically occur when applications fail to properly validate input data or handle memory operations, leading to situations where attackers can manipulate memory contents to execute arbitrary code or cause system crashes. This particular flaw operates at a low level within the application's memory management subsystem, where improper handling of document parsing or rendering operations can result in buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or other memory-related anomalies. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple code paths within the software could potentially trigger this memory corruption, making it difficult for security teams to predict or fully isolate all possible exploitation methods. According to CWE standards, this vulnerability aligns with several memory corruption categories including CWE-122, CWE-125, and CWE-787, which represent heap-based buffer overflows and out-of-bounds memory access conditions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as it provides attackers with the capability to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. This means that successful exploitation could lead to complete system compromise, allowing threat actors to install malware, steal sensitive data, or establish persistent backdoors within organizational networks. The memory corruption aspect particularly dangerous because it can be leveraged to bypass modern security mitigations such as address space layout randomization and data execution prevention mechanisms. Organizations running affected versions of Adobe Reader or Acrobat face significant risk exposure, especially in environments where users frequently open untrusted PDF documents from email attachments or web downloads. The vulnerability's presence across multiple product versions and platforms creates a complex remediation challenge for IT security teams who must coordinate patching efforts across diverse computing environments while ensuring minimal disruption to business operations.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require a multi-layered approach that combines immediate patch management with defensive measures. Organizations should prioritize updating to the latest versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat that address this specific memory corruption flaw, with particular attention to the fixed versions mentioned in the CVE description. Network-based defenses such as email filtering and web proxy configurations can help reduce the likelihood of exploitation by blocking malicious PDF files before they reach end-user systems. Security teams should also implement application whitelisting policies that restrict execution of Adobe Reader and Acrobat only from trusted sources, while monitoring for unusual process behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques such as T1203 (Exploitation for Client Execution) and T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) as attackers would leverage the memory corruption to execute malicious code and establish persistence within compromised systems. Additionally, implementing regular security awareness training for users can help reduce the risk of social engineering attacks that might deliver malicious PDF files to unsuspecting employees. The vulnerability's classification as a critical security issue underscores the importance of maintaining current patch management processes and conducting regular vulnerability assessments to identify and remediate similar flaws before they can be exploited by threat actors.