CVE-2017-2978 in Digital Editions
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Digital Editions versions 4.5.3 and earlier have an exploitable memory corruption vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/25/2024
Adobe Digital Editions version 4.5.3 and earlier contains a critical memory corruption vulnerability that presents a significant security risk to users and organizations. This vulnerability falls under the category of heap-based buffer overflows as classified by the Common Weakness Enumeration framework, specifically mapping to CWE-122 which describes "Heap-based Buffer Overflow." The flaw exists within the application's handling of malformed or specially crafted digital content files that are processed during the reading or importing operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory management practices within Adobe Digital Editions. When the application processes certain types of digital publications or metadata files, it fails to properly bounds-check memory allocations, allowing attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations. This memory corruption can be exploited through carefully crafted file structures that trigger the vulnerable code path during normal application operation. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it allows for arbitrary code execution, meaning an attacker could potentially gain complete control over the victim's system without requiring elevated privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple exploitation scenarios and represents a serious threat to digital rights management and content consumption environments. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to execute malicious code on systems running vulnerable versions of Adobe Digital Editions, potentially leading to full system compromise. The attack surface is broad as the vulnerability can be triggered through various digital content formats including epub, pdf, and other supported publication types. Organizations that deploy Adobe Digital Editions for content distribution, educational institutions, or corporate environments face heightened risk as users may inadvertently encounter maliciously crafted content files that trigger this memory corruption flaw.
Security professionals should prioritize immediate remediation of this vulnerability through patching Adobe Digital Editions to version 4.5.4 or later, which contains the necessary fixes to address the heap-based buffer overflow conditions. Additionally, organizations should implement content filtering measures to prevent the importation of untrusted digital content and establish monitoring procedures to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper memory management practices and input validation in client-side applications, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1068 for Exploitation for Privilege Escalation. Network segmentation and application whitelisting controls can provide additional defense-in-depth layers to mitigate potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing endpoint detection and response solutions to identify anomalous behavior patterns that may indicate exploitation of this or similar memory corruption vulnerabilities.