Adobe Creative Cloud version 5.9.1 (and earlier) has been identified with a security vulnerability labeled as CVE-2023-26358. This vulnerability is an Untrusted Search Path issue, which might enable attackers to execute their programs, access unauthorized data files, or modify configurations in unexpected ways. If the vulnerable application uses a search path to locate crucial resources, such as programs, then an attacker could modify that search path to point to a malicious program, which the targeted application would then execute. This problem extends to any type of critical resource that the application trusts.

Detailed Exploit

The vulnerability stems from the application using an insecure method to locate resources required for its proper functioning. To demonstrate how this exploit works, let's consider the following example of a code snippet that employs an untrusted search path:

import os

# Get the user-specified path
user_path = os.environ.get("USER_SPECIFIED_PATH")

# Search for the required program or file
file_path = os.path.join(user_path, "critical_resource.exe")

# Execute the program
os.system(file_path)

In this example, the attacker modifies the environment variable USER_SPECIFIED_PATH to point to a directory containing a malicious version of critical_resource.exe. The application using this untrusted search path would then execute the attacker's program, leading to unauthorized access or potential harm to the system and user data.

Original References

- CVE Details - CVE-2023-26358 Untrusted Search Path
- Adobe Creative Cloud Security Bulletin

Mitigations and Recommendations

To protect against this vulnerability, users are urged to update their Adobe Creative Cloud software to version 5.9.2 or later, which contains a fix for the CVE-2023-26358 vulnerability. You can find the latest version of the software on the Adobe Creative Cloud Download Page.

For developers, it is crucial to avoid using untrusted search paths for locating critical resources in your applications (programs, data files, etc.) to reduce the risk of similar vulnerabilities in the future. Ensure that your applications use trusted paths and, when possible, incorporate cryptographic techniques to confirm the integrity of the resources being used.

Summary

CVE-2023-26358 is an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability affecting Adobe Creative Cloud version 5.9.1 and earlier, potentially allowing attackers to execute malicious programs, access unauthorized data files, or tamper with configurations. By updating to the latest version of Creative Cloud and ensuring secure coding practices, users and developers can minimize the risk posed by this vulnerability.

Timeline

Published on: 03/22/2023 17:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 03/24/2023 02:27:00 UTC