Software Engineering Institute

Adobe Flash versions 10.1.102.64 and earlier contain a vulnerability that can result in memory corruption, which can allow arbitrary code execution. Please see Adobe Security Bulletin APSB11-02 and Adobe Security Bulletin APSB11-03.

Note that separate instances of Flash are provided in a variety of Adobe products, including Adobe Reader and Acrobat. Updating Flash Player does not update the Flash runtime included in other products.

By convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page or an HTML email message or attachment), PDF file, Microsoft Office document, or any other document that supports embedded SWF content, an attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability reportedly affects Flash Player 10.1.102.64 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and Solaris.

Apply an update

This issue is addressed in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB11-02. This bulletin describes Flash Player 10.2.152.26 for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and Solaris, which addresses this issue. Adobe Reader X 10.0.1, which contains Flash 10.2.152.23, and Google Chrome 9.0.597.94, which contains Flash 10.2.154.12, have also been released.

Disable Flash in your web browser

Disable Flash or selectively enable Flash content as described in Securing Your Web Browser.

Disable Flash and 3D & Multimedia support in Adobe Reader 9 and later

Flash and 3D & Multimedia support are implemented as plug-in libraries in Adobe Reader. Disabling Flash in Adobe Reader will only mitigate attacks that use an SWF embedded in a PDF file. Disabling 3D & Multimedia support does not directly address the vulnerability, but it does provide additional mitigation and results not in a crash but in a more user-friendly error message.

To disable Flash and 3D & Multimedia support in Adobe Reader 9 on Microsoft Windows, delete or rename these files:
"%ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\authplay.dll"
"%ProgramFiles%\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\rt3d.dll"

For Apple Mac OS X, delete or rename these files:
"/Applications/Adobe Reader 9/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/Frameworks/AuthPlayLib.bundle"
"/Applications/Adobe Reader 9/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/Frameworks/Adobe3D.framework"
For GNU/Linux, delete or rename these files (locations may vary among distributions):
"/opt/Adobe/Reader9/Reader/intellinux/lib/libauthplay.so"
"/opt/Adobe/Reader9/Reader/intellinux/lib/librt3d.so"

For versions of Adobe Reader newer than 9, please adjust the above file paths accordingly. File locations may be different for Adobe Acrobat or other Adobe products that include Flash and 3D & Multimedia support. Disabling these plug-ins will reduce functionality and will not protect against SWF files 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.

Remove Flash

Adobe has provided a TechNote with utilities for uninstalling the Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX control on Windows and Mac OS X systems. Removing these components can mitigate the web browser attack vector for this vulnerability. Note that this will not remove the instances of Flash Player that are installed with Adobe Reader or other Adobe products.

Disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader and Acrobat

Disabling JavaScript can help mitigate some techniques that use Adobe Reader as an attack vector.

To disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader:

1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader.
2. Open the Edit menu.
3. Choose the Preferences... option.
4. Choose the JavaScript section.
5. Uncheck the Enable Acrobat JavaScript checkbox.

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.