Adobe has released security updates addressing critical vulnerabilities in Adobe Shockwave Player as part of its regularly scheduled update.
Adobe updated Adobe Shockwave Player 11.6.7.637 and earlier versions on Windows and Mc OS X to close vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to run malicious code on the affected system, the company noted in a security bulletin posted Tuesday. The update has a priority rating of “2,” meaning the update should be applied within 30 days.
Adobe is urging users of Adobe Shockwave Player 11.6.7.637 and earlier update to Adobe Shockwave Player 11.6.7.638.
The patch fixed five buffer overflow vulnerabilities and an array out of bounds vulnerability in the software. Adobe generally does not provide a lot of information in its bulletins about the vulnerabilities beyond CVE numbers (CVE-2012-4172, CVE-2012-4173, CVE-2012-4174, CVE-2012-4175, CVE-2012-4176, CVE-2012-5273).
There are currently no known attacks targeting this vulnerability, and the company does not believe “exploits are imminent,” according to the advisory.
Many Windows users rely on the Shockwave plugin to access multimedia content online. Even though there are no active exploits in the wild targeting the latest issues in Shockwave, security experts recommend staying on top of security updates if you already have the player installed.
Many sites no longer require Shockwave, so if it’s not necessary, users should considering uninstalling Shockwave Player entirely to minimize the potential attack layer. Many attackers take advantage of vulnerabilities in plugins to compromise user systems, so by disabling plugins that aren’t being used, the user can eliminate potential entry points.