Latest Flash Update Mends Code Execution and XSS Flaws

Summary:

• This vulnerability affects: Adobe Flash Player  13.0.0.214 and earlier, running on all platforms (and Air)
• How an attacker exploits it: By enticing users to visit a website containing malicious Flash content
• Impact: In the worst case, an attacker can execute code on the user’s computer, potentially gaining control of it
• What to do: Download and install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player (version 14.0.0.125 for computers)

Exposure:

Adobe Flash Player displays interactive, animated web content called Flash. Although Flash is optional, 99% of PC users download and install it to view multimedia web content. It runs on many operating systems, including mobile operating systems like Android.

In a security bulletin released today, Adobe announced a patch that fixes six critical vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player 13.0.0.214 and earlier, running on all platforms.

The six vulnerabilities differ technically, and in scope and impact, but one flaw stands out as the worst. Specifically, Flash Player suffers from an unspecified memory corruption vulnerability that attackers could exploit to execute arbitrary code. Adobe doesn’t share the details, but we assume if an attacker can entice you to a site containing maliciously crafted Flash content, he could exploit this flaw to execute any code with your privileges. If you are a local administrator, or have root access, the attacker gains complete control of your computer. The remaining flaws include three cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities and two unspecified security bypass flaws.

Adobe rates these issues as a “Priority 1” issue for Windows and Mac, and recommend you apply the updates as soon as possible (within 72 hours).   However, the vulnerability technically affects other platforms as well, so I recommend you update any Flash capable device as soon as you can.

Solution Path

Adobe has released new versions of Flash Player (14.0.0.125 for computers) to fix these issues. If you allow Adobe Flash in your network, you should download and install the new versions immediately. If you’ve enabled Flash Player’s recent “silent update” option, you will receive this update automatically.

• Download Flash Player for your computer:

For All WatchGuard Users:

If you choose, you can configure the HTTP proxy on your XTM appliance to block Flash content. Keep in mind, doing so blocks all Flash content, whether legitimate or malicious.

More importantly, WatchGuard’s Gateway Antivirus and Intrusion Prevention services can often prevent these sorts of attacks, or the malware they try to distribute. For instance, our IPS signature team has already developed a signature that can detect and block one of the Flash flaws:

• EXPLOIT Adobe Flash Player security bypass vulnerability (CVE-2014-0520)

Your XTM appliance should get this new IPS signature update shortly.

Finally, our Reputation Enabled Defense (RED) and WebBlocker services can often prevent your users from accidentally visiting malicious (or legitimate but booby-trapped) web sites that contain these sorts of attacks. Nonetheless, we still recommend you install Adobe’s Flash update to completely protect yourself from all of these flaws.

Status:

Adobe has released updates to fix these Flash vulnerabilities.

References:

• June 2014 Adobe Flash Security Bulletin

This alert was researched and written by Corey Nachreiner, CISSP (@SecAdept)

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