CVE-2017-3083 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player versions 25.0.0.171 and earlier have an exploitable use after free vulnerability in the Primetime SDK functionality related to the profile metadata of the media stream. 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 use after free vulnerability in its Primetime SDK implementation that affected versions 25.0.0.171 and earlier. This vulnerability stems from improper memory management within the media stream profile metadata handling functionality, creating a condition where freed memory locations could be accessed and reused by malicious code. The flaw occurs when the application processes media streams with specific profile metadata structures, leading to a scenario where memory allocated for metadata objects is freed but subsequently referenced during processing operations. This memory corruption vulnerability represents a classic use after free condition that falls under the CWE-416 weakness category, where memory is accessed after it has been freed, potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability specifically impacts the Primetime SDK functionality which handles digital rights management and media streaming operations, making it particularly dangerous in environments where Flash Player processes multimedia content from untrusted sources. Exploitation requires crafting malicious media streams with specially constructed profile metadata that triggers the memory management error during normal playback operations. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to execute code with the privileges of the Flash Player process, potentially leading to full system compromise. The attack surface is broad as Flash Player is widely deployed across various platforms and applications, making this vulnerability particularly impactful for enterprise environments where multimedia content is frequently processed. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, as successful exploitation could enable attackers to execute arbitrary commands through the Flash Player runtime environment. This weakness demonstrates the critical importance of proper memory management in multimedia processing libraries and highlights how vulnerabilities in media handling components can provide attackers with privileged execution paths. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Flash Player installations and consider implementing network segmentation to limit exposure. The vulnerability also underscores the need for comprehensive memory safety testing in multimedia processing components, particularly those handling user-supplied content. Security researchers have noted that such use after free vulnerabilities are particularly challenging to detect during development phases, as they often manifest only under specific runtime conditions and may not be apparent during standard testing procedures. The remediation strategy should include not only patching the Flash Player application but also implementing additional security controls such as sandboxing and content filtering to mitigate potential exploitation attempts.