CVE-2018-4912 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Adobe Acrobat Reader 2018.009.20050 and earlier versions, 2017.011.30070 and earlier versions, 2015.006.30394 and earlier versions. This vulnerability occurs as a result of computation that reads data that is past the end of the target buffer; the computation is part of the image conversion module that handles JPEG 2000 data. A successful attack can lead to sensitive data exposure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/22/2024
This vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader represents a classic buffer over-read condition that falls under the CWE-125 category of out-of-bounds read flaws. The issue manifests within the image conversion module specifically when processing JPEG 2000 formatted data, where the software fails to properly validate buffer boundaries during data parsing operations. The vulnerability affects multiple version lines including 2018.009.20050 and earlier, 2017.011.30070 and earlier, and 2015.006.30394 and earlier versions, indicating this flaw has persisted across several major releases and represents a significant security gap in the software's handling of multimedia content. The root cause stems from improper boundary checking in the JPEG 2000 decoding routine where the application attempts to read memory locations beyond the allocated buffer space, creating potential avenues for information disclosure.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it creates opportunities for attackers to extract sensitive information from memory regions that should remain protected. When processing maliciously crafted JPEG 2000 files, the buffer over-read can potentially reveal portions of memory containing encryption keys, user credentials, or other confidential data that was previously stored in the application's memory space. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1005 which involves data from local system, and represents a critical weakness in the application's memory management practices. The vulnerability's exploitation requires the user to open a specially crafted document containing malicious JPEG 2000 content, making it a user-initiated attack vector that relies on social engineering or targeted phishing campaigns.
Security researchers have identified this flaw as particularly concerning due to its potential for information leakage without requiring elevated privileges or complex attack chains. The vulnerability's presence in multiple version lines suggests that Adobe's security team may have missed implementing proper boundary checks across different code branches or that the issue was introduced during architectural changes to support various image formats. From a defensive standpoint, organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Adobe Acrobat Reader installations, as the vulnerability represents a persistent threat that could be exploited by threat actors to gain insights into system memory contents. The flaw demonstrates the importance of rigorous input validation and memory safety practices in multimedia processing libraries, particularly when handling complex image formats that require extensive parsing operations. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify attempts to deliver malicious JPEG 2000 content through email attachments or web downloads, as this vulnerability could be leveraged in targeted attacks against high-value targets.