CVE-2018-5067 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Acrobat and Reader 2018.011.20040 and earlier, 2017.011.30080 and earlier, and 2015.006.30418 and earlier versions have a Heap Overflow vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2023
Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions prior to 2018.011.20040, 2017.011.30080, and 2015.006.30418 contain a critical heap overflow vulnerability that represents a significant security risk for end users and organizations. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-121 heap-based buffer overflow category, where insufficient bounds checking allows an attacker to write data beyond the allocated memory boundaries. The flaw occurs when processing specially crafted PDF files that contain malformed data structures, particularly in the handling of memory allocation for heap objects. When the application attempts to process these malicious inputs, it fails to validate the size of data being written to heap memory, leading to memory corruption that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code.
The exploitation of this heap overflow vulnerability enables attackers to gain arbitrary code execution within the context of the current user's privileges, making it particularly dangerous for targeted attacks. The vulnerability is classified as a remote code execution threat under the MITRE ATT&CK framework, specifically mapping to technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter execution. Attackers can craft malicious PDF documents that trigger the vulnerability when opened by an affected version of Adobe Reader or Acrobat, potentially allowing them to execute malicious payloads, escalate privileges, or establish persistent access to compromised systems. This type of vulnerability is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where users frequently open PDF documents from untrusted sources.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-5067 extends beyond simple code execution, as it can serve as a foothold for more sophisticated attacks within network environments. Organizations that have not patched affected versions face significant risk of targeted attacks, especially in industries where document-based attacks are common such as financial services, government agencies, and legal firms. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of keeping software updated and implementing defense-in-depth strategies including email filtering, web application firewalls, and user education. Security professionals should note that heap overflow vulnerabilities like this one often require careful memory management practices and can be mitigated through techniques such as address space layout randomization, stack canaries, and heap metadata protection. The vulnerability also highlights the need for regular security assessments and vulnerability management processes to identify and remediate such issues before they can be exploited in the wild.