CVE-2018-16028 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2019.008.20081 and earlier, 2019.008.20080 and earlier, 2019.008.20081 and earlier, 2017.011.30106 and earlier version, 2017.011.30105 and earlier version, 2015.006.30457 and earlier, and 2015.006.30456 and earlier have an out-of-bounds read vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to information disclosure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/04/2024
This vulnerability resides in Adobe Acrobat and Reader software across multiple version lines, specifically affecting releases up to and including 2019.008.20081, 2017.011.30106, 2015.006.30457, and their respective earlier versions. The flaw manifests as an out-of-bounds read condition that occurs when processing specially crafted PDF files, representing a critical security weakness that could be exploited by malicious actors to extract sensitive information from system memory. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of memory safety issues and is classified as CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to information disclosure and potentially more severe consequences depending on the context of the memory access. The vulnerability represents a fundamental flaw in how the software handles memory operations when parsing PDF documents, particularly in scenarios where the application does not properly validate array indices or buffer boundaries during document processing.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to craft a malicious PDF file that triggers the out-of-bounds read condition when opened or processed by the vulnerable Adobe software. When the application attempts to read data beyond the allocated memory boundaries, it may inadvertently expose sensitive information stored in adjacent memory locations, including but not limited to authentication credentials, encryption keys, or other confidential data that might be present in the application's memory space. This information disclosure can occur without any user interaction beyond opening the malicious document, making it particularly dangerous in targeted attack scenarios. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple information leakage as it can potentially provide attackers with sufficient information to facilitate more sophisticated attacks, including privilege escalation or further exploitation of related vulnerabilities within the same application context.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations that rely on Adobe Acrobat and Reader for document processing, particularly in environments where sensitive data is frequently handled. The vulnerability affects multiple generations of Adobe's software, indicating a persistent flaw in the codebase that spans several years of development, which suggests either inadequate testing procedures or a fundamental architectural issue in how the PDF parsing components handle memory operations. The fact that the vulnerability exists across both newer and older versions demonstrates that Adobe's security team may have missed implementing proper bounds checking mechanisms in critical parsing functions, creating a persistent threat vector that remains exploitable across a wide range of installations. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which involves the use of PDF files as attack vectors, and represents a common pattern in software vulnerabilities where memory corruption issues enable attackers to extract information from system memory.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to address this vulnerability, as the out-of-bounds read condition can be exploited remotely without user interaction, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments. The recommended mitigation strategy involves updating to the latest versions of Adobe Acrobat and Reader where the vulnerability has been addressed through proper bounds checking and memory validation mechanisms. Security teams should also implement additional protective measures such as PDF file scanning, network monitoring for suspicious file transfers, and user education regarding the risks of opening untrusted PDF documents. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper memory management in software development and the need for comprehensive security testing, particularly for applications that process untrusted input data such as PDF files. Organizations should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies and sandboxing mechanisms to limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities in case of successful exploitation.