CVE-2022-34237 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE • 07/15/2022
Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.001.20142 (and earlier), 20.005.30334 (and earlier) and 17.012.30229 (and earlier) are affected by a Use After Free vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file..
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/01/2022
This vulnerability resides in Adobe Acrobat Reader's handling of memory management during document processing, specifically manifesting as a use after free condition that presents significant security implications for affected versions. The flaw occurs when the application improperly manages memory allocation and deallocation processes, allowing an attacker to potentially manipulate freed memory regions and extract sensitive information from the application's memory space. The vulnerability affects multiple version lines including 22.001.20142 and earlier, 20.005.30334 and earlier, and 17.012.30229 and earlier, indicating a widespread issue across the product's lifecycle that requires immediate attention from organizations relying on these applications for document processing. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-416 category of Use After Free, which represents a critical memory safety issue that can lead to arbitrary code execution and privilege escalation. The security implications extend beyond simple information disclosure as the vulnerability can be leveraged to bypass critical operating system security mitigations such as Address Space Layout Randomization, which is designed to prevent attackers from predicting memory addresses during exploitation attempts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is particularly concerning given that exploitation requires only user interaction through opening a malicious file, making it highly suitable for phishing campaigns and targeted attacks. Attackers can craft specially designed PDF documents that trigger the use after free condition when processed by the vulnerable Acrobat Reader application, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability's exploitation pathway involves the attacker creating a malicious document that, when opened, causes the application to free memory that is subsequently accessed, allowing for the extraction of memory contents that could include encryption keys, credential information, or other sensitive data. This type of attack vector aligns with the attack techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1059 category of Command and Scripting Interpreter, where attackers leverage application vulnerabilities to execute malicious code. The memory disclosure aspect of this vulnerability can provide attackers with information necessary to circumvent security protections, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple security layers are deployed.
Organizations must implement immediate mitigations to protect against exploitation of this vulnerability, starting with mandatory application updates to versions that contain the necessary patches for the use after free condition. The recommended approach involves maintaining strict control over document handling procedures and implementing user education programs to prevent opening suspicious PDF files from untrusted sources. Security teams should also consider implementing network-based protections such as web application firewalls and content filtering solutions that can detect and block malicious PDF files before they reach end users. Additionally, system hardening measures including disabling unnecessary PDF processing features and implementing application whitelisting can significantly reduce the attack surface. The vulnerability's classification as a memory safety issue underscores the importance of regular security assessments and vulnerability management programs that can identify and remediate similar issues before they can be exploited in the wild. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous behavior patterns associated with memory manipulation attacks and establish incident response procedures specifically designed to handle use after free vulnerabilities in widely used applications.