Security problems in Adobe Flash Player, Reader and Acrobat

CERT Alert TA10-159A

Adobe Flash, Reader, and Acrobat Vulnerability

Update! Security update for Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR released.

Adobe Flash Player v.10.1 released 06.10.10 to plug the vulnerability listed below.

Adobe AIR 2.0.2 released 06.10.10

Excerpt below:

Original release date: June 08, 2010
Last updated June 08, 2010
Source: US-CERT

Systems Affected

• Adobe Flash Player 10.0.45.2 and earlier 10.x versions
• Adobe Flash Player 9.0.262 and earlier 9.x versions
• Adobe Reader 9.3.2 and earlier 9.x versions
• Adobe Acrobat 9.3.2 and earlier 9.x versions

Overview: According to Adobe, there is a vulnerability in Adobe Flash. This vulnerability affects Flash Player, Reader, Acrobat, and possibly other products that support Flash. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code.

1. Description: Adobe Security Advisory APSA10-01 describes a vulnerability in Adobe Flash that affects Flash Player, Reader, and Acrobat. It may also affect other products that independently support Flash, such as Photoshop, Photoshop Lightroom, Freehand MX, and Fireworks.
An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by convincing a user to open specially crafted Flash content. Flash content is commonly hosted on a web page, but it can also be embedded in PDF and other documents or provided as a stand-alone file.
As noted in APSA10-01, “There are reports that this vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild against both Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Reader and Acrobat.”

Additional information is available in US-CERT Vulnerability Note VU#486225.

2. Impact: If a user opens specially crafted Flash content, a remote attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code.

3. Solution:

Update

Adobe Security Advisory APSA10-01 suggests updating to the release candidate of Flash Player 10.1.

Disable Flash in your web browser

Uninstall Flash or restrict which sites are allowed to run Flash. To the extent possible, only run trusted Flash content on trusted domains. For more information, see Securing Your Web Browser.

Disable Flash in Adobe Reader and Acrobat

Disabling Flash in Adobe Reader will mitigate attacks that rely on Flash content embedded in a PDF file. Disabling 3D & Multimedia support does not directly address the vulnerability, but it does provide additional mitigation and results in a more user-friendly error message instead of a crash. To disable Flash and 3D & Multimedia support in Adobe Reader 9, delete, rename, or remove access to these files:

Microsoft Windows
“%ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\authplay.dll”
“%ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\rt3d.dll”

Apple Mac OS X
“/Applications/Adobe Reader 9/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/Frameworks/AuthPlayLib.bundle”
“/Applications/Adobe Reader 9/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/Frameworks/Adobe3D.framework”

GNU/Linux (locations may vary among distributions)
“/opt/Adobe/Reader9/Reader/intellinux/lib/libauthplay.so”
“/opt/Adobe/Reader9/Reader/intellinux/lib/librt3d.so”

File locations may be different for Adobe Acrobat or other Adobe products that include Flash and 3D & Multimedia support. Disabling these plugins will reduce functionality and will not protect against Flash content hosted on websites. Depending on the update schedule for products other than Flash Player, consider leaving Flash and 3D & Multimedia support disabled unless they are absolutely required.

Disable the display of PDF documents in the web browser

Preventing PDF documents from opening inside a web browser will partially mitigate this vulnerability. If this workaround is applied, it may also mitigate future vulnerabilities. To prevent PDF documents from automatically being opened in a web browser, do the following:
1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader.
2. Open the Edit menu.
3. Choose the Preferences option.
4. Choose the Internet section.
5. Uncheck the “Display PDF in browser” checkbox.

Disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader and Acrobat

Disabling JavaScript provides some additional protection against attacks. Acrobat JavaScript can be disabled using the Preferences menu (Edit -> Preferences -> JavaScript; uncheck Enable Acrobat JavaScript).

Do not access PDF documents from untrusted sources

Do not open unfamiliar or unexpected PDF documents, particularly those hosted on websites or delivered as email attachments.

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