CVE-2018-5068 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 an Out-of-bounds read vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to information disclosure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/12/2024
Adobe Acrobat and Reader applications contain a critical out-of-bounds read vulnerability that affects multiple version ranges including 2018.011.20040 and earlier, 2017.011.30080 and earlier, and 2015.006.30418 and earlier. This vulnerability resides in the handling of PDF documents and represents a classic memory safety issue that falls under the CWE-125 weakness category for out-of-bounds read conditions. The flaw occurs when the software processes malformed PDF files that contain specially crafted data structures which cause the application to read memory locations beyond the intended buffer boundaries. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through social engineering attacks where users unknowingly open malicious PDF attachments, making it a prime target for zero-day exploitation in targeted campaigns.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves manipulating PDF parsing routines to trigger memory access violations that can be leveraged to extract sensitive information from the application's memory space. When an attacker crafts a PDF file with malformed data structures, the Acrobat Reader application fails to properly validate buffer boundaries during parsing operations, resulting in unintended memory reads. This behavior aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter and T1566 for phishing with malicious attachments, as the vulnerability enables attackers to perform information gathering operations that could reveal system details, user credentials, or other sensitive data stored in memory. The out-of-bounds read condition typically manifests as a segmentation fault or memory corruption that can be exploited to disclose memory contents through careful manipulation of the PDF structure.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks including privilege escalation and remote code execution in certain scenarios. Attackers can leverage the information disclosure capability to gather system configuration details, application memory layouts, or even cryptographic keys that could be used to bypass security controls. The vulnerability affects not only individual user systems but also enterprise environments where Acrobat Reader is widely deployed for document processing. Organizations running affected versions face significant risk exposure as the vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including email attachments, web downloads, and malicious websites. Security researchers have noted that this vulnerability demonstrates poor input validation practices and highlights the importance of implementing robust memory safety mechanisms in document processing applications.
Organizations should immediately implement multiple layers of mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability effectively. The primary recommendation involves applying the latest security patches from Adobe as soon as they become available, which typically include enhanced input validation and memory boundary checking mechanisms. System administrators should also deploy application whitelisting solutions and configure sandboxing environments for PDF processing to limit the potential impact of exploitation attempts. Network-based protections such as email filtering and web proxy configurations can help prevent users from accessing malicious PDF files before they reach the desktop environment. Additionally, security monitoring solutions should be configured to detect anomalous PDF processing behavior or memory access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of keeping software updated and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that protect against both known and unknown threats in enterprise environments.