Macromedia Flash Player: Remote arbitrary code execution — GLSA 200511-21

A vulnerability has been identified that allows arbitrary code execution on a user's system via the handling of malicious SWF files.

Affected packages

www-plugins/adobe-flash on all architectures
Affected versions < 7.0.61
Unaffected versions >= 7.0.61

Background

The Macromedia Flash Player is a renderer for the popular SWF filetype which is commonly used to provide interactive websites, digital experiences and mobile content.

Description

When handling a SWF file, the Macromedia Flash Player incorrectly validates the frame type identifier stored in the SWF file which is used as an index to reference an array of function pointers. A specially crafted SWF file can cause this index to reference memory outside of the scope of the Macromedia Flash Player, which in turn can cause the Macromedia Flash Player to use unintended memory address(es) as function pointers.

Impact

An attacker serving a maliciously crafted SWF file could entice a user to view the SWF file and execute arbitrary code on the user's machine.

Workaround

There is no known workaround at this time.

Resolution

All Macromedia Flash Player users should upgrade to the latest version:

 # emerge --sync
 # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=www-plugins/adobe-flash-7.0.61"

References

Release date
November 25, 2005

Latest revision
May 28, 2009: 02

Severity
normal

Exploitable
remote

Bugzilla entries