CVE-2018-4967 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2018.011.20038 and earlier, 2017.011.30079 and earlier, and 2015.006.30417 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 • 07/21/2024
Adobe Acrobat and Reader applications contain a critical out-of-bounds read vulnerability that affects multiple versions across different release cycles. This vulnerability resides in the handling of malformed PDF files and occurs when the software attempts to read memory locations beyond the allocated buffer boundaries. The flaw manifests during the processing of specific PDF objects that contain crafted data structures, leading to unpredictable behavior when the application tries to access memory regions that have not been properly validated or initialized. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-125 as an out-of-bounds read condition, which represents a fundamental memory safety issue that can be exploited to extract sensitive information from the application's memory space.
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 by the vulnerable software. When Adobe Acrobat or Reader processes such a file, the application's PDF parser fails to properly validate array indices or object boundaries, allowing execution to proceed beyond the intended memory limits. This condition can result in the disclosure of sensitive data that may include memory contents, stack data, or other confidential information stored in adjacent memory locations. The vulnerability does not directly enable code execution but creates a pathway for information disclosure that can be leveraged to gather intelligence about the target system or application state.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-4967 extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the leaked memory contents may contain cryptographic keys, session tokens, or other sensitive data that could be used to compromise system security. Attackers can potentially construct payloads that exploit this vulnerability to extract credentials, application state information, or even partial memory dumps that reveal implementation details of the Adobe software. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where sensitive documents are processed regularly, as the information disclosure could provide attackers with valuable insights for subsequent attacks. The vulnerability affects a wide range of Adobe Reader versions, making it a significant concern for enterprise environments that rely on these applications for document processing.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected Adobe Acrobat and Reader installations to mitigate this vulnerability. The recommended mitigation involves updating to the latest versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat that contain fixes for this out-of-bounds read condition. Security teams should also implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and consider deploying sandboxing mechanisms to isolate PDF processing activities. Additionally, users should be educated about the risks of opening untrusted PDF files and organizations should establish secure document handling procedures that include content validation and threat intelligence integration. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and memory boundary checking in preventing information disclosure attacks that can compromise system security and data integrity. This issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and script interpreter execution, as attackers may use information disclosure to gather intelligence for more sophisticated attacks, and represents a classic example of how memory safety vulnerabilities can create cascading security risks in widely deployed software applications.