CVE-2017-11243 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Acrobat Reader 2017.009.20058 and earlier, 2017.008.30051 and earlier, 2015.006.30306 and earlier, and 11.0.20 and earlier has an exploitable memory corruption vulnerability in the XSLT engine. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/30/2024
Adobe Acrobat Reader contains a critical memory corruption vulnerability within its XSLT engine that affects multiple versions including 2017.009.20058 and earlier, 2017.008.30051 and earlier, 2015.006.30306 and earlier, and 11.0.20 and earlier. This vulnerability stems from improper memory handling during XSLT processing operations, creating a condition where maliciously crafted XSLT files can trigger buffer overflows or heap corruption. The flaw resides in the parser implementation that fails to properly validate input parameters before processing XSLT transformations, allowing attackers to manipulate memory layout through crafted XML documents containing malicious XSLT instructions. This vulnerability maps to CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow and CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write within the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog, representing a severe memory safety issue that can be exploited through the ATT&CK technique T1059.007 Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript. The impact of successful exploitation enables remote code execution with the privileges of the target user, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code on the affected system. Attackers typically deliver malicious XSLT content through phishing emails containing specially crafted PDF documents that trigger the vulnerable XSLT engine when the document is opened. The vulnerability represents a significant risk in enterprise environments where users frequently open PDF attachments from untrusted sources, as it requires no user interaction beyond opening the malicious document. The memory corruption occurs during the parsing phase when the XSLT engine attempts to process malformed input, leading to unpredictable behavior including application crashes, memory corruption, and ultimately full system compromise. Organizations should immediately apply patches from Adobe to mitigate this vulnerability, as the exploitability is high and the impact is severe. The vulnerability affects not only the desktop versions of Acrobat Reader but also the broader ecosystem of applications that rely on the same XSLT processing engine for document transformation and rendering operations. Security teams should implement network-based protections such as web application firewalls and email filtering solutions to prevent delivery of malicious PDF files containing the vulnerable XSLT content. Additionally, user education regarding suspicious email attachments and document opening practices remains critical in reducing attack surface and preventing successful exploitation attempts.