CVE-2017-3015 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 11.0.19 and earlier, 15.006.30280 and earlier, 15.023.20070 and earlier have an exploitable memory corruption vulnerability in the JBIG2 parsing functionality. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/29/2020
Adobe Acrobat Reader contains a critical memory corruption vulnerability within its JBIG2 image decoding component that affects multiple version ranges including 11.0.19 and earlier, 15.006.30280 and earlier, and 15.023.20070 and earlier. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory handling within the JBIG2 parsing functionality, which processes binary image data used in document compression. The flaw manifests when the application encounters malformed JBIG2 encoded data during document rendering, leading to unpredictable memory corruption patterns that can be exploited by malicious actors.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through carefully crafted JBIG2 compressed image data that triggers buffer overflows or heap corruption conditions within the affected software components. When Acrobat Reader attempts to parse such malicious input, the improper memory management routines fail to properly bounds-check array accesses or validate data structures, resulting in memory corruption that can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the targeted user. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-121 Heap-based Buffer Overflow, representing a classic memory safety issue where insufficient validation allows attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution as it provides attackers with a potential pathway to establish persistent access within user environments. Since Adobe Acrobat Reader is widely deployed across enterprise networks and personal computers, successful exploitation could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive documents, exfiltrate data, or deploy additional malware payloads. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal user interaction beyond opening a malicious document, making it particularly dangerous in targeted attack scenarios where social engineering can be combined with the technical exploit.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including mandatory security updates from Adobe, which address the underlying memory handling issues in the JBIG2 parser component. Network-based defenses such as email filtering and document scanning should be enhanced to detect and block potentially malicious JBIG2 encoded attachments. System administrators should consider implementing application whitelisting policies to restrict execution of untrusted PDF documents and deploy endpoint protection solutions with advanced threat detection capabilities. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and script interpreter execution, as successful exploitation typically involves executing malicious code through the compromised application. Additionally, the flaw demonstrates characteristics of T1203, Exploitation for Client Execution, where attackers leverage client-side vulnerabilities to achieve remote code execution in user environments.