CVE-2017-16379 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Adobe Acrobat and Reader: 2017.012.20098 and earlier versions, 2017.011.30066 and earlier versions, 2015.006.30355 and earlier versions, and 11.0.22 and earlier versions. This vulnerability is an instance of a type confusion overflow vulnerability in the graphics rendering engine.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/04/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-16379 represents a critical type confusion overflow issue within Adobe Acrobat and Reader software across multiple version ranges including 2017.012.20098 and earlier, 2017.011.30066 and earlier, 2015.006.30355 and earlier, and 11.0.22 and earlier versions. This flaw resides in the graphics rendering engine component of these applications, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered during the processing of malicious PDF files. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to properly validate data types during graphics processing operations, leading to a scenario where memory corruption occurs through improper handling of object types. Such type confusion vulnerabilities are classified under CWE-466 by the Common Weakness Enumeration framework and represent a significant concern in software security due to their potential for arbitrary code execution.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the graphics rendering engine's failure to maintain proper type safety when handling various graphic objects within PDF documents. When processing malformed or specially crafted PDF files, the application's graphics engine attempts to perform operations on objects that have been incorrectly typed or misclassified, resulting in memory corruption patterns that can be exploited by attackers. This particular flaw allows for a buffer overflow condition to occur, where data written to memory locations exceeds the allocated buffer boundaries. The operational impact is severe as this vulnerability can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code on affected systems, potentially allowing attackers to gain complete control over the victim's machine. The exploitation requires the user to open a malicious PDF file, making this a classic social engineering attack vector that combines file format manipulation with privilege escalation techniques.
The implications of this vulnerability extend beyond simple code execution, as it provides attackers with a pathway to bypass various security controls present on modern operating systems. The attack surface is particularly broad given the widespread use of Adobe Acrobat and Reader across enterprise environments and personal computing platforms. Security researchers have noted that this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves the use of malicious files to gain access to systems, and T1059, which encompasses the execution of malicious code through various system interfaces. Organizations running affected versions of Adobe Acrobat and Reader face significant risk of data breaches, system compromise, and potential lateral movement within their networks. The vulnerability's exploitation can result in persistent backdoors, data exfiltration, and complete system takeover, making it a high-priority target for threat actors. The impact is compounded by the fact that many organizations have legacy systems running older versions of these applications, creating extended attack windows for malicious actors. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software security patches and implementing robust application whitelisting policies to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities in widely used software applications.
Organizations should immediately implement security patches provided by Adobe to address this vulnerability, while also considering network segmentation and monitoring for suspicious PDF file activity. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the ongoing challenges in software security and the necessity for continuous vulnerability management processes.