CVE-2018-12818 in Digital Editions
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Digital Editions versions 4.5.8 and below have an out of bounds read vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to information disclosure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/05/2020
Adobe Digital Editions version 4.5.8 and earlier contains a critical out of bounds read vulnerability that poses significant security risks to users of the software. This vulnerability falls under the category of memory safety issues and can be classified as a CWE-129 weakness, specifically involving insufficient validation of the length of input data. The flaw occurs when the application processes malformed or specially crafted input data without proper bounds checking mechanisms, allowing an attacker to read memory locations beyond the intended buffer boundaries. The vulnerability exists within the document parsing or processing components of the software where input validation is inadequate.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to craft malicious content that triggers the out of bounds read condition during document processing. When Adobe Digital Editions attempts to parse a specially crafted file or document, the application fails to validate the size or structure of the input data before accessing memory regions. This allows the attacker to potentially read sensitive information from adjacent memory locations, which could include encryption keys, user credentials, session tokens, or other confidential data stored in memory. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be triggered through normal document processing operations, making it difficult to detect and prevent through standard user behavior monitoring.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can provide attackers with access to sensitive system information that could be used for further exploitation. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could potentially extract cryptographic keys, user authentication tokens, or other confidential data that could be used to impersonate users or gain unauthorized access to additional systems. The vulnerability affects users who process documents through Adobe Digital Editions, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users frequently process various types of digital content. The low complexity of exploitation combined with the potential for significant information disclosure makes this vulnerability particularly attractive to threat actors.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Adobe Digital Editions version 4.5.9 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address this out of bounds read vulnerability. System administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring of document processing activities and consider deploying network-based intrusion detection systems to identify potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and memory management practices in software development, aligning with security best practices outlined in the software security engineering framework. Additionally, users should be educated about the risks of processing untrusted documents and the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities. Security teams should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies to restrict the execution of potentially malicious content through Adobe Digital Editions.