We all require software to help us in our daily work and personal communications. Software is just as likely to contain insecure code and vulnerabilities that allow malware spread.
Cybercriminals tend to target Microsoft, because its Office and Internet Explorer solutions are ubiquitous. Many users view this software as an integral part of the Windows platform, rather than separate software that may need a separate regime of updating and patching. Lately, cybercrooks targeted Adobe to enable malware distribution, as its PDF Reader and Flash player are also widely, if not universally, installed.
Researchers have noted problems with Adobe PDF documents for some years now, since the ability to run active scripts is enabled by default in Adobe’s Reader software. In 2010, PDF exploits became ever more widespread, and new vulnerabilities in Reader emerged regularly. Maliciously-crafted PDFs are placed on websites or mailed out in spam runs, hoping that they will be opened in vulnerable Reader software and their payloads will be given free rein to infect systems.
With more and more websites using Flash to display dynamic imagery and more users installing the required player software (itself a common trick to get Trojans installed), Flash problems are also becoming more widespread. New zero-day exploits and critical patches for Adobe software became routine in 2010 with a series of advisories and patches issued throughout the year.
Amid all this activity, and increasing calls for action such as disabling JavaScript by default, Adobe showed signs of moving towards better security. In 2010 they added automatic updating capabilities, and will add, “sandboxing” in new versions of their Reader solutions. The companies hope that this effort will isolate malicious scripts from the local system. We’ll know their success with time.
Other popular Adobe packages such as Shockwave and Photoshop also needed to address security concerns in 2010 and required patching. Java, produced by Sun Microsystems, and now part of Oracle, also drew a lot of attention from malware writers due to its wide installed base, with an increase in exploits included in malware observed.
In many cases, malware exploiting these vulnerabilities led to fake anti-virus software scams, but cybercriminals also used PDF attacks to link to more complex chains of malware infestations such as the Sality virus family.