Adobe rolls out updates every week. Most of the times, these updates bring new functionalities, improved features, bug fixes, and other tweaks. On December 5, Adobe rolled out brand-new patches for fixing the most recent zero-day menace observed in the well-known Flash Player program. The zero-threat that was found was submerged deep within Office documents containing malware.
In November, the Word files containing the zero-day infection were found when someone uploaded them on VirusTotal. VirusTotal combines several anti-malware suites and web-based scanning engines to detect malware that the uploader’s security suite might have missed. These Word documents were uploaded from an IP address in Ukraine.
IT security companies Gigamon and Qihoo 360, found that the malware contained in the Word document was injected as a Flash Active X object.
This APT attempt was guised in the appearance of a bogus employee questionnaire. Upon launching the document, an exploit would get launched for the zero-day Flash susceptibility.
When the zero-day would get executed, a new payload would download and install a hidden backdoor. This malware bore the capability to monitor user activity, including inputs from the keyboard and mouse, adding protocol encryption in the memory, and it could also download file execution program.
If the malicious code finds any Antivirus program on the computer, then it is programmed to self-destruct. In the absence of any antivirus suite, the code will create its replicas and begin infecting different parts of the system.
If you use Flash Player regularly, then you should be aware of the threat lurking around. Research about the new zero-day exploit and install the patches. Get updates for the Flash Player program on your computer. You should also update your browsing software as they use Flash Player.
Given that Adobe plans to discontinue Flash Player in the upcoming year, you can completely uninstall the program from your computer.
Jack Tucker is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technical industry from last 10 year. As a technical expert, he has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as office.com/setup
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