CVE-2012-5054

What is Adobe Flash Player?

Adobe Flash Player was a ubiquitous browser plugin and document component that enabled rich multimedia across virtually every platform. Flash supported complex 3D graphics via the Stage3D API introduced in Flash Player 11, which included Matrix3D and other transformation objects. The addition of new capabilities introduced new attack surface, and the Matrix3D implementation became the source of integer overflow vulnerabilities. Adobe discontinued Flash Player on December 31, 2020.

Overview

CVE-2012-5054 is an integer overflow vulnerability (CWE-190) in Adobe Flash Player's handling of Flash content with malformed arguments. An integer overflow in the processing of Matrix3D object arguments causes Flash Player to allocate an undersized buffer, enabling a subsequent heap buffer overflow that leads to arbitrary code execution. Adobe patched this in Security Bulletin APSB12-22 on September 21, 2012.

Affected Versions

Technical Details

Integer overflow vulnerabilities (CWE-190) occur when an arithmetic operation produces a result that exceeds the maximum value representable in the integer type, causing the value to wrap around to a small number. In CVE-2012-5054, the Flash Player's Matrix3D implementation performs integer arithmetic on attacker-controlled argument values without proper bounds checking.

The exploitation path:

1. A malicious SWF file passes specially crafted argument values to Matrix3D operations in Flash ActionScript
2. Integer arithmetic on these values overflows, producing a small result
3. Flash Player allocates a buffer based on the overflowed (too-small) size
4. When Flash subsequently writes the full intended data into this undersized buffer, a heap overflow occurs
5. The heap overflow corrupts adjacent heap structures, enabling controlled code execution

This integer-overflow-to-heap-overflow chain is a classic exploitation pattern in media parsers and rendering engines.

Discovery

The vulnerability was discovered through security research and coordinated with Adobe prior to the APSB12-22 patch. The September 2012 Flash Player update addressed multiple vulnerabilities alongside CVE-2012-5054.

Exploitation Context

CISA confirmed in-the-wild exploitation. Flash Player integer overflow vulnerabilities were exploited in targeted attack campaigns, with malicious SWF content delivered via web pages or embedded in Office documents. Adobe Flash vulnerabilities were exploited at a high rate throughout 2012, with CVE-2012-5054 being one of multiple Flash issues patched in the September–October 2012 timeframe.

Remediation

Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020. Organizations should:

1. Verify Flash Player is completely removed from all endpoints (Windows, macOS, Linux)
2. Check via Group Policy or endpoint management tools for any remaining Flash installations
3. Audit legacy systems that may have preserved Flash for compatibility — replace or isolate these
4. Block .swf file delivery at email and web content filtering gateways