dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 22 Jun 2022.
ChromeWeb browser · Google

CVE-2011-0609

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2011-03-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.648.134 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS No privileges

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 · unedited
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player 10.2.154.13 and earlier on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris; 10.1.106.16 and earlier on Android; Adobe AIR 2.5.1 and earlier; and Authplay.dll (aka AuthPlayLib.bundle) in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x through 9.4.2 and 10.x through 10.0.1 on Windows and Mac OS X, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via crafted Flash content, as demonstrated by a .swf file embedded in an Excel spreadsheet, and as exploited in the wild in March 2011.

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 confidence

Remote code execution vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and the AuthPlayLib component (Authplay.dll) used by Adobe Reader/Acrobat. Attackers exploited it by embedding malicious SWF Flash content in documents such as Excel spreadsheets, allowing arbitrary code execution or denial of service. Actively exploited in the wild in March 2011.

MitigationUpdate affected Adobe products to versions beyond 10.2.154.13/10.1.106.16/9.4.2/10.0.1, or remove/deprecated Flash Player and the AuthPlayLib component if no longer needed.

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 data
ChromeWeb browser
Affected:< 10.0.648.134
Flash PlayerApplication
Affected:<= 10.2.154.13<= 10.1.106.16
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 9.0, <= 9.4.2= 10.0= 10.0.1
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 9.0, <= 9.4.2= 10.0= 10.0.1
AirApplication
Affected:<= 2.5.1
OpensuseOperating system
Affected:= 11.2= 11.3= 11.4
Linux EnterpriseOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 11.0

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Adobe Flash Player version
    Open a browser and navigate to https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html, or check the installed program version in Control Panel > Programs and Features. On Windows, also check C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\ for the Flash version file.
    Affected if The installed version is 10.2.154.13 or earlier, or 10.1.106.16 or earlier (for 10.1.x branch)
  2. Check Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version
    Open Acrobat/Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader). Alternatively, check the program properties in Control Panel > Programs and Features.
    Affected if The installed version is 9.0 through 9.4.2 inclusive, or exactly version 10.0 or 10.0.1
  3. Check for the presence of the vulnerable AuthPlayLib component
    Locate the file Authplay.dll in the Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat installation directory (typically under Program Files/Adobe). Search for Authplay.dll in the application folder.
    Affected if The file Authplay.dll exists in the Adobe Reader/Acrobat installation directory on a vulnerable version (9.x or 10.0.x)
  4. Check Adobe Air version
    Open Adobe Air (if installed), check the application's version info, or view the installed version in Control Panel > Programs and Features.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.5.1 or earlier
  5. Check Google Chrome version
    Open Chrome, click the menu icon (three dots) > Help > About Google Chrome, or navigate to chrome://settings/help
    Affected if The installed version is earlier than 10.0.648.134

A user is affected if any of the following is true: Adobe Flash Player version is 10.2.154.13 or earlier (or 10.1.106.16 or earlier), Adobe Acrobat/Reader version is 9.0-9.4.2 or 10.0/10.0.1, Adobe Air is 2.5.1 or earlier, or Chrome is earlier than 10.0.648.134, and the Authplay.dll component is present in Adobe Reader/Acrobat.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.0.648.134 or later
Fixed in 10.0.648.134
Interim mitigation

Update affected Adobe products to versions beyond 10.2.154.13/10.1.106.16/9.4.2/10.0.1, or remove/deprecated Flash Player and the AuthPlayLib component if no longer needed.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Flash Player 10.2.154.18 or later (10.3.x recommended); Adobe Reader/Acrobat 9.4.3 or later (10.0.2 or later for v10); Adobe AIR 2.6 or later

  1. 1. Identify the affected Adobe product installed (Flash Player, Adobe Reader/Acrobat, Adobe AIR, or the bundled Flash in Chrome)
  2. 2. For Adobe Flash Player: uninstall or disable the current version
  3. 3. For Adobe Reader/Acrobat: uninstall or disable the current version
  4. 4. For Adobe AIR: uninstall or disable the current version
  5. 5. For Google Chrome users: ensure Chrome is updated to version 10.0.648.134 or later (Chrome auto-updates Flash)
  6. 6. Download and install the fixed version from the official Adobe website or trusted distribution channels
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release after installation
Caveat Adobe products from 2011 are very old; upgrading to current versions is strongly recommended but may require system compatibility checks

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Chrome Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-0609 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-0609 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data