CVE-2017-16419 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. The issue is a stack exhaustion problem within the JavaScript API, where the computation does not correctly control the amount of recursion that can happen with respect to system resources.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/04/2024
This vulnerability represents a critical stack exhaustion issue within Adobe Acrobat and Reader applications that affects 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 exists within the JavaScript API implementation where the system fails to properly regulate recursive function calls that consume system resources. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-674 category of Uncontrolled Recursion, which is classified as a weakness that can lead to denial of service conditions and potentially more severe consequences when exploited. The vulnerability stems from inadequate bounds checking and resource management within the JavaScript interpreter component of Adobe's document processing framework.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows malicious actors to craft PDF documents containing JavaScript code that triggers excessive recursion patterns, causing the application's stack memory to be consumed rapidly. When the JavaScript engine processes such documents, it does not enforce proper recursion depth limits or resource consumption monitoring, enabling attackers to exhaust available stack space through carefully constructed malicious scripts. This creates a denial of service condition where legitimate users cannot process documents, and the application may crash or become unresponsive. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the application level within the JavaScript execution environment, making it difficult to detect through traditional network-based security measures and requiring specific application-level monitoring to identify.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-16419 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as it represents a potential vector for more sophisticated attacks within the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and execution phases. While the immediate effect is system resource exhaustion, this vulnerability could serve as a stepping stone for attackers to deploy additional malicious payloads or establish persistent access within compromised environments. Organizations using affected Adobe Reader versions face significant risk, particularly in environments where PDF documents are frequently exchanged, as a single malicious document could compromise multiple systems. The vulnerability affects both desktop and mobile versions of Adobe Reader, creating widespread exposure across enterprise environments where document processing is a common activity. Security teams must consider this vulnerability in their threat modeling, as it can be leveraged in targeted attacks against high-value targets or as part of broader exploitation campaigns.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of affected Adobe Reader versions, implementing strict document validation policies, and deploying application whitelisting controls to prevent execution of untrusted PDF documents. Organizations should also consider network-based filtering to block suspicious PDF content and implement monitoring for unusual JavaScript execution patterns within their environments. The recommended approach includes updating to the latest Adobe Reader versions that contain fixes for this recursion control issue, implementing sandboxing techniques for PDF processing, and establishing security awareness training to reduce the risk of social engineering attacks that might deliver malicious documents. Additionally, security professionals should monitor for indicators of compromise related to this vulnerability and consider implementing automated response mechanisms that can isolate affected systems when suspicious document processing is detected, aligning with ATT&CK framework's defensive strategies for preventing exploitation of such resource exhaustion vulnerabilities.