CVE-2018-15952 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2018.011.20063 and earlier, 2017.011.30102 and earlier, and 2015.006.30452 and earlier have an out-of-bounds write vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/31/2020
Adobe Acrobat and Reader applications contain a critical out-of-bounds write vulnerability that affects multiple versions across different release cycles. This vulnerability resides in the handling of malformed PDF files and represents a classic memory corruption flaw that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. The issue manifests when the software processes specially crafted PDF documents that contain malformed data structures, leading to memory corruption during parsing operations. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-787 category of out-of-bounds write conditions, where an application writes data past the boundaries of a fixed-length buffer or array.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to craft a malicious PDF file that triggers the memory corruption during document parsing. When a user opens the malicious file, the application's PDF parser attempts to process invalid data structures, causing it to write beyond allocated memory boundaries. This memory corruption can overwrite critical program data structures, function pointers, or return addresses, enabling attackers to redirect execution flow and ultimately execute malicious code with the privileges of the affected user. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered through simple user interaction such as opening a PDF document, making it a prime candidate for social engineering attacks and drive-by downloads.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations relying on Adobe Acrobat and Reader for document processing. The attack surface is extensive given the widespread use of these applications across enterprise environments, educational institutions, and government agencies. Successful exploitation can result in complete system compromise, allowing attackers to establish persistent backdoors, escalate privileges, or exfiltrate sensitive data. The vulnerability's impact aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 (Exploitation for Client Execution) and T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) as attackers can leverage this flaw to execute arbitrary commands and establish malicious processes on target systems. Organizations may experience unauthorized access, data breaches, and potential lateral movement within their networks, making this vulnerability a critical concern for cybersecurity teams.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by updating to the latest versions of Adobe Acrobat and Reader that contain patches for this vulnerability. Adobe released security updates for all affected versions, including 2018.011.20064, 2017.011.30103, and 2015.006.30453, which address the out-of-bounds write condition through proper input validation and memory boundary checks. Additional mitigations include implementing sandboxing mechanisms, restricting PDF file execution in email clients and web browsers, and deploying network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies to prevent execution of untrusted PDF files and establish robust incident response procedures to detect and respond to potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of keeping software updated and maintaining comprehensive patch management programs to protect against known exploits.