CVE-2017-11297 in Digital Editions
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Adobe Digital Editions 4.5.6 and earlier versions. An exploitable memory corruption vulnerability exists, which could lead to disclosure of memory addresses.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/26/2021
Adobe Digital Editions versions 4.5.6 and earlier contain a memory corruption vulnerability that allows attackers to extract memory addresses through improper handling of crafted input data. This vulnerability represents a critical security flaw that could enable adversaries to gain insights into the application's memory layout and potentially facilitate further exploitation attempts. The flaw occurs when the software processes malformed or specially crafted documents without adequate input validation, leading to unpredictable memory behavior that exposes sensitive address information.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking and memory management practices within the digital edition processing engine. When parsing specific document formats, the application fails to properly validate input parameters, allowing maliciously constructed data to trigger buffer overflows or other memory corruption conditions. This memory corruption manifests as information disclosure rather than direct code execution, but the exposure of memory addresses provides attackers with crucial information needed for advanced exploitation techniques. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-20, which covers improper input validation. From an operational perspective, this weakness creates a significant risk for users who may unknowingly open maliciously crafted documents, potentially compromising their system security.
The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure as memory address exposure can be leveraged in conjunction with other exploitation techniques to bypass security mitigations such as address space layout randomization. Attackers can use the disclosed addresses to craft more sophisticated attacks that target specific memory regions or to defeat exploit protection mechanisms. This weakness particularly affects users who frequently process documents from untrusted sources, making it a significant concern for organizations that rely on Adobe Digital Editions for document management. The vulnerability demonstrates poor secure coding practices that violate fundamental security principles outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for application execution through document processing.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to Adobe Digital Editions version 4.5.7 or later, which contains patches addressing this memory corruption vulnerability. System administrators should implement strict document validation policies and consider deploying sandboxing mechanisms to limit the potential impact of exploitation attempts. Additionally, users should be educated about the risks of opening documents from untrusted sources and the importance of keeping software updated. Security monitoring should include detection of unusual memory access patterns and information disclosure attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of comprehensive input validation and proper memory management practices in preventing information leakage attacks that can serve as precursors to more serious security breaches.