CVE-2018-12757 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Acrobat and Reader 2018.011.20040 and earlier, 2017.011.30080 and earlier, and 2015.006.30418 and earlier versions have an Out-of-bounds read vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to information disclosure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/12/2024
Adobe Acrobat and Reader applications contain a critical out-of-bounds read vulnerability that affects multiple version ranges including 2018.011.20040 and earlier, 2017.011.30080 and earlier, and 2015.006.30418 and earlier. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-129 weakness category, which represents an insufficient bounds checking mechanism that allows attackers to read memory locations beyond the intended buffer boundaries. The flaw occurs during the processing of PDF documents where the applications fail to properly validate array indices or buffer limits when parsing specific file structures. When an attacker crafts a malicious PDF file with malformed data structures, the application attempts to read memory beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive information from adjacent memory regions. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through social engineering attacks where users unknowingly open malicious PDF documents, leading to information disclosure without requiring any user interaction beyond document opening. The out-of-bounds read can potentially reveal memory contents including encryption keys, user credentials, system information, or other sensitive data that may be stored in adjacent memory locations. This vulnerability maps to the ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1566 for Phishing, as it enables attackers to craft malicious documents that can be delivered through email or web-based attack vectors. The exploitation of this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and bounds checking in document processing applications, particularly those handling untrusted content from external sources. Organizations should prioritize patching affected versions to prevent potential information disclosure attacks that could compromise sensitive data stored in memory. The vulnerability represents a fundamental security flaw in the PDF parsing engine that requires comprehensive input validation to prevent attackers from manipulating memory access patterns through carefully crafted malicious documents. This issue highlights the critical need for robust memory safety mechanisms in enterprise applications that process complex file formats and underscores the importance of regular security updates and vulnerability management programs. The impact of successful exploitation extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks that could leverage the leaked memory information for privilege escalation or further system compromise.