CVE-2020-3759 in Digital Editions
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Digital Editions versions 4.5.10 and below have a buffer errors vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to information disclosure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2020
Adobe Digital Editions version 4.5.10 and earlier contains a buffer error vulnerability that represents a critical security flaw in the software's handling of memory operations. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-121 category of buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking allows attackers to write beyond allocated memory regions. The flaw specifically manifests when the application processes malformed or specially crafted input data that exceeds the allocated buffer space, potentially causing memory corruption that could be exploited for information disclosure purposes.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within Adobe Digital Editions' document processing pipeline. When the application encounters malformed content during ebook parsing or rendering operations, the buffer management routines fail to properly validate the size of incoming data before copying it into fixed-size memory buffers. This allows malicious actors to craft specially formatted ebooks or digital content that triggers the buffer overflow condition, potentially leading to the exposure of sensitive memory contents including authentication tokens, user credentials, or system information.
From an operational standpoint this vulnerability creates significant risk for organizations and individual users who rely on Adobe Digital Editions for managing digital publications. The information disclosure threat could result in unauthorized access to user data, session tokens, or other sensitive information stored in memory during ebook processing operations. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to gain insights into user activities, potentially enabling further exploitation attempts or credential harvesting. The impact extends beyond individual users to enterprise environments where digital publishing systems might be compromised through this vulnerability.
The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter and T1005 for data from local system, as exploitation could enable attackers to extract sensitive information from memory. Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Adobe Digital Editions version 4.5.11 or later, which includes patched buffer handling routines and enhanced input validation. Additionally implementing network segmentation, monitoring for unusual ebook processing activities, and conducting regular security assessments of digital publishing environments can help mitigate potential exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider deploying application whitelisting policies to restrict execution of untrusted ebook content and maintain comprehensive audit trails of digital publication processing activities to detect any potential exploitation attempts.