CVE-2017-11262 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) data related to drawing ASCII text string. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/31/2024
This vulnerability exists within Adobe Acrobat Reader's image conversion engine which processes Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF) data structures. The flaw manifests when the software attempts to render ASCII text strings within EMF files, creating a memory corruption condition that can be exploited by malicious actors. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader including 2017.009.20058 and earlier, 2017.008.30051 and earlier, 2015.006.30306 and earlier, and 11.0.20 and earlier releases. The memory corruption occurs during the processing of EMF data structures that contain ASCII text elements, making this a critical security flaw in document rendering functionality.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper handling of memory allocation and data processing within the image conversion engine. When Adobe Acrobat Reader encounters EMF data containing ASCII text strings, the software fails to properly validate the data boundaries and memory allocation patterns. This leads to buffer overflows or other memory corruption conditions that can be manipulated to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability represents a classic memory safety issue that falls under CWE-121, which describes "Stack-based Buffer Overflow" and CWE-122, "Heap-based Buffer Overflow", depending on the specific memory corruption pattern. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and memory management practices that are commonly exploited in software exploitation frameworks.
From an operational perspective, successful exploitation of this vulnerability enables attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution on systems running vulnerable versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader. This creates a significant risk for organizations as users may inadvertently open malicious EMF files embedded in emails, documents, or web content. The attack surface expands when considering that EMF files can be embedded within PDF documents, making the exploitation vector more隐蔽 and harder to detect. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007, "Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript', as the exploitation may leverage scripting elements within EMF files, and T1203, "Exploitation for Client Execution", which specifically targets client-side applications like document readers. The impact extends beyond individual user compromise to potential network-wide infiltration, especially in enterprise environments where document sharing is common.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies including immediate patching of all affected Adobe Acrobat Reader versions to the latest security releases. System administrators should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict execution of EMF files from untrusted sources and deploy network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify suspicious EMF file patterns. Additional protective measures include configuring Adobe Acrobat Reader to disable automatic execution of embedded content and implementing sandboxing techniques for document processing. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date software security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that reduce the attack surface for client-side exploitation. Regular security assessments of document processing applications and user education regarding suspicious file attachments remain essential components of comprehensive security posture management.