CVE-2002-0846
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe decoder for Macromedia Shockwave Flash allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malformed SWF header that contains more data than the specified length.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Macromedia Shockwave Flash player decoder contains a buffer overflow vulnerability where it fails to properly validate that the actual data length matches the length field in a malformed SWF file header. When the file contains more data than the specified length, the decoder can be tricked into executing arbitrary code remotely.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if Shockwave Flash is installedOn Windows: Look for 'Shockwave Flash' in Add/Remove Programs or search for the file 'swflash.ocx' in the system32 directory. On Mac: Check Applications folder for Shockwave or search for 'Flash Player' system-wide.Affected if The product is installed on the system
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Identify the Shockwave Flash versionRight-click on a SWF file, select 'Properties', and look for the file version details. Alternatively, open Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Manage Add-ons, and look for Shockwave Flash Object to see the version number.Affected if Any installed version - the vulnerability affects all versions of Macromedia Shockwave Flash
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Verify if SWF file handling is enabledCheck browser settings or the system default application handler for .swf files. In Windows, search for file extension .swf and see which application is set to open it. In browsers, check if the Flash plugin/activex is enabled.Affected if SWF files can be opened by the Flash player - exploitation requires a user to open a malicious SWF file
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Check for recent SWF file usageReview recently opened files in the system, browser history, or file system logs to see if .swf files have been opened recently. Check temporary internet folders for downloaded SWF files.Affected if Users have recently opened or may open SWF files from untrusted sources
If Macromedia Shockwave Flash player is installed and users can open SWF files, the environment is affected since all versions of this product contain the vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpdate Macromedia Shockwave Flash player to the latest patched version, or remove/uninstall Flash player if not required, as exploitation requires a user to open a malicious SWF file.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-0846 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2002-0846 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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