CVE-2017-3079 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player versions 25.0.0.171 and earlier have an exploitable memory corruption vulnerability in the internal representation of raster data. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/17/2019
Adobe Flash Player contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability in its handling of raster data structures that affected versions through 25.0.0.171. This vulnerability stems from improper memory management during the processing of graphical raster elements within the player's internal architecture. The flaw manifests when the application processes malformed or specially crafted raster data that triggers an out-of-bounds write condition in the memory heap. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-121 category of stack-based buffer overflow, though in this case it operates within heap memory structures rather than traditional stack allocations. The vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate memory layout and potentially execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Flash Player process. Attackers typically exploit this by crafting malicious SWF files that contain malformed raster data, which when loaded by the vulnerable Flash Player triggers the memory corruption. The exploitation technique leverages the predictable memory layout of the Flash Player's heap to overwrite critical function pointers or return addresses, enabling code execution control. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous because Flash Player runs with the same privileges as the user, making it possible for attackers to gain full system access. The issue represents a classic use-after-free or heap-based buffer overflow scenario that can be exploited through the web browser plugin interface. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 for execution through Flash Player and T1203 for the exploitation technique. The vulnerability was classified as a high-severity issue due to its potential for remote code execution without user interaction, as Flash Player automatically executes SWF content in web browsers. Security researchers identified that the memory corruption occurred during the rendering of raster graphics, specifically when processing bitmap data structures that were not properly validated. The flaw allowed attackers to manipulate memory in a way that could overwrite critical program execution flow control elements, making it a prime target for advanced persistent threat actors seeking to establish persistent access to systems. Organizations deploying Flash Player needed to implement immediate patching strategies as the vulnerability had no known legitimate use case that would require the specific memory corruption pattern. The exploitation of this vulnerability demonstrated the inherent risks of complex multimedia processing libraries in browser environments where untrusted content could trigger memory corruption through legitimate application functions.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves improper bounds checking within the Flash Player's internal raster data processing engine. When the player encounters malformed raster data structures, it fails to validate the size or content of these elements before attempting to write them to allocated memory regions. This leads to a situation where the application writes data beyond the allocated buffer boundaries, potentially overwriting adjacent memory locations. The heap-based nature of this vulnerability means that the memory corruption occurs in dynamically allocated regions rather than fixed stack allocations, making exploitation more complex but also more dangerous. Attackers could craft specific SWF files that would cause the Flash Player to allocate memory for raster data, then write beyond those boundaries to overwrite critical program structures. The vulnerability's exploitability was enhanced by the fact that Flash Player's automatic execution of SWF content in web browsers meant that users could be compromised simply by visiting malicious websites. This made the vulnerability particularly attractive to cybercriminals seeking to deploy malware at scale, as it required no user interaction beyond normal browsing activities. The memory corruption pattern was consistent enough that security researchers could develop reliable exploitation techniques that could bypass many standard security mitigations. This vulnerability highlighted the risks of legacy multimedia technologies that continued to receive support despite known security issues, particularly in enterprise environments where Flash Player remained widely deployed. The exploitation of this vulnerability required knowledge of the Flash Player's internal memory layout and the specific heap management patterns used by the application. The impact of successful exploitation included complete system compromise, as the Flash Player process typically ran with user privileges that could be escalated to system-level access in many environments.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate patching of all affected Flash Player installations, as no effective workarounds existed for the memory corruption issue. Organizations needed to implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all systems running Flash Player were updated to versions that addressed this vulnerability. The patch released by Adobe specifically addressed the memory validation issues in the raster data processing code, correcting the bounds checking mechanisms that allowed the out-of-bounds writes to occur. Security administrators had to monitor for exploitation attempts through network intrusion detection systems, as the vulnerability was commonly targeted in phishing campaigns and drive-by download attacks. The vulnerability's classification as a remote code execution flaw meant that organizations needed to consider both endpoint and network-level security controls to prevent exploitation. Many organizations chose to disable Flash Player entirely in their environments, given the ongoing security concerns and the availability of alternative web technologies. The incident highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches for multimedia plugins and browser extensions, as these components often contained complex code that was difficult to secure through traditional means. Security teams needed to implement monitoring for unusual Flash Player behavior and memory allocation patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also underscored the risks of supporting legacy technologies that had known security issues, as the cost of maintaining these systems often exceeded the benefits they provided. Organizations that continued to use Flash Player after the vulnerability was disclosed were particularly vulnerable to targeted attacks that leveraged this specific memory corruption flaw. The exploitation techniques developed for this vulnerability were documented in security research publications and became part of the standard toolkit for advanced threat actors targeting web browsers and multimedia applications.