CVE-2017-16412 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 occurs because of a computation that reads data that is past the end of the target buffer; the computation is part of the XPS conversion module, when handling a JPEG resource. The use of an invalid (out-of-range) pointer offset during access of internal data structure fields causes the vulnerability. A successful attack can lead to sensitive data exposure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/03/2024
This vulnerability exists in 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. The flaw manifests within the XPS conversion module when processing JPEG resources, representing a classic buffer overflow condition that has been classified under CWE-125 as "Out-of-bounds Read." The vulnerability stems from improper boundary checking during data processing, where the application computes an invalid pointer offset that accesses memory locations beyond the intended buffer boundaries.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the XPS conversion module's handling of JPEG resources, where the software fails to properly validate the size and boundaries of image data structures before accessing internal fields. When processing malformed or specially crafted XPS files containing JPEG resources, the application performs arithmetic operations that result in pointer calculations pointing to memory locations outside the allocated buffer space. This out-of-bounds memory access pattern creates an exploitable condition that can be leveraged by attackers to read sensitive data from adjacent memory regions, potentially exposing confidential information stored in the application's memory space.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it represents a potential pathway for more sophisticated attacks within the context of the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and credential access phases. An attacker could potentially exploit this condition to extract memory contents that might include encryption keys, user credentials, or other sensitive information from the application's memory. The vulnerability affects a wide range of Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions, making it particularly concerning for organizations that maintain legacy software installations, as the attack surface remains broad across multiple product lines and release cycles.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate software updates to the latest available versions of Adobe Acrobat and Reader, as Adobe has released patches addressing this specific vulnerability. Organizations should implement network segmentation to limit access to Acrobat and Reader applications, particularly when processing untrusted documents. Additionally, security controls should include mandatory document validation and sandboxing of XPS and PDF processing operations to prevent exploitation of similar buffer overflow conditions. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of input validation and boundary checking in document processing modules, aligning with industry best practices for secure coding and defensive programming techniques that should be applied throughout software development lifecycle processes.