CVE-2017-11258 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 image conversion engine when processing Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF) private data and the embedded GIF image. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/31/2024
This vulnerability resides within Adobe Acrobat Reader's image conversion engine, specifically when processing Enhanced Metafile Format files containing private data and embedded GIF images. The flaw represents a classic memory corruption issue that can be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution, making it particularly dangerous for end users who frequently open documents containing embedded graphics. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader across different release cycles, indicating a persistent flaw in the image processing logic that was not adequately addressed in the affected software versions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within the EMF private data processing functionality where the application fails to properly validate or sanitize embedded GIF image data. When the image conversion engine encounters malformed or specially crafted EMF files with embedded GIF content, it attempts to process the data without sufficient bounds checking or memory allocation safeguards. This leads to memory corruption that can be manipulated by attackers to overwrite critical memory locations and ultimately execute malicious code with the privileges of the victim user. The vulnerability falls under the CWE-121 category of stack-based buffer overflow, though it manifests in a more complex memory corruption scenario involving multiple data formats.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple document viewing, as it transforms the Acrobat Reader application into a potential attack vector for remote code execution. Attackers can craft malicious EMF files with embedded GIF images that, when opened by an affected version of Acrobat Reader, trigger the memory corruption exploit. This creates a significant risk for users who receive documents from untrusted sources, as the exploitation can occur simply through normal document opening procedures without any additional user interaction beyond the initial document access. The vulnerability affects users across multiple Adobe Acrobat Reader versions, suggesting that the underlying flaw in the image processing engine was not properly patched across the software lifecycle.
Organizations and individual users should prioritize immediate patching of affected Adobe Acrobat Reader installations to prevent exploitation. The recommended mitigation strategy involves updating to the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader where the memory corruption vulnerability has been addressed through improved input validation and memory management. Security teams should also implement network-based protections such as sandboxing document processing environments and restricting the opening of untrusted documents containing embedded graphics. Additionally, monitoring for suspicious EMF file patterns and implementing email filtering rules that block potentially malicious document attachments can provide additional layers of defense against exploitation attempts. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software and the potential for image processing components to serve as attack surfaces in enterprise security environments.