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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2012-5254

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-10-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 11.1.115.17 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
Buffer overflow in Adobe Flash Player before 10.3.183.29 and 11.x before 11.4.402.287 on Windows and Mac OS X, before 10.3.183.29 and 11.x before 11.2.202.243 on Linux, before 11.1.111.19 on Android 2.x and 3.x, and before 11.1.115.20 on Android 4.x; Adobe AIR before 3.4.0.2710; and Adobe AIR SDK before 3.4.0.2710 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than other Flash Player buffer overflow CVEs listed in APSB12-22.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allowing arbitrary code execution. The flaw exists in unspecified vectors within the Flash Player rendering engine, enabling memory corruption that can be leveraged for code execution. This is distinct from other buffer overflow CVEs in APSB12-22.

MitigationUpgrade Adobe Flash Player to version 10.3.183.29 or 11.x (11.4.402.287 for Windows/Mac, 11.2.202.243 for Linux, 11.1.111.19 for Android 2.x/3.x, 11.1.115.20 for Android 4.x) and Adobe AIR to 3.4.0.2710 or later.

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
Flash PlayerApplication
Affected:<= 10.3.183.25= 10.1.85.3= 10.1.102.64= 10.2.152.26= 10.2.152.32= 10.2.153.1= 10.2.159.1= 10.3.181.14= 10.3.181.16= 10.3.181.22= 10.3.181.26= 10.3.181.34
Flash Player For AndroidApplication
Affected:<= 11.1.111.16= 10.1.106.17= 10.2.157.51= 10.3.186.7= 11.0.1.153= 11.1.102.59= 11.1.111.5= 11.1.111.7= 11.1.111.8= 11.1.111.9= 11.1.111.10<= 11.1.115.17
Adobe AirApplication
Affected:<= 3.4.0.2540= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.8.4990= 1.0.4990= 1.1= 1.1.0.5790= 1.5= 1.5.0.7220= 1.5.1= 1.5.1.8210= 1.5.2
Adobe Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 3.4.0.2540

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 Flash Player version on Windows or Mac browser
    Navigate to Adobe's version check page at https://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/ or open a command prompt and run: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer' /v Version (Windows)
    Affected if Installed version matches or is lower than any version listed in the affected Flash Player ranges (10.3.183.25 and below, or specific listed versions like 10.1.85.3, 10.1.102.64, etc.)
  2. Check Flash Player version on Linux
    Run the command: rpm -q flash-player or check /usr/lib/flash-plugin/libflashplayer.so version info, or visit the Adobe version check page in a Linux browser
    Affected if Installed version matches or is lower than any version in the affected Flash Player list
  3. Check Flash Player for Android version
    Open Settings > Apps > Adobe Flash Player on the Android device, or check the version from the APK file name if sideloaded
    Affected if Installed version is 11.1.111.16 or below, or matches any specific listed Android version (10.1.106.17, 10.2.157.51, etc.)
  4. Check Adobe AIR desktop version
    On Windows: Run 'reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\AIR /v Version' or on Mac run: defaults read /Library/Application\ Support/Adobe/AIR/Version.plist Version, or check Add/Remove Programs for Adobe AIR
    Affected if Installed version is 3.4.0.2540 or below, or matches any specific listed AIR version (1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.8.4990, etc.)
  5. Check Adobe AIR SDK version
    Locate the AIR SDK installation directory and check the readme or version file, or run: adt -version if AIR SDK is installed with command-line tools
    Affected if Installed SDK version is 3.4.0.2540 or below

If any installed Flash Player, Flash Player for Android, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK version matches or falls within the affected version ranges listed for CVE-2012-5254, the environment is vulnerable to this buffer overflow.

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 a release after 11.1.115.17
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Adobe Flash Player to version 10.3.183.29 or 11.x (11.4.402.287 for Windows/Mac, 11.2.202.243 for Linux, 11.1.111.19 for Android 2.x/3.x, 11.1.115.20 for Android 4.x) and Adobe AIR to 3.4.0.2710 or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Flash Player 10.3.183.29+/11.x (platform-specific), Adobe AIR 3.4.0.2710+, Adobe AIR SDK 3.4.0.2710+

  1. Identify the specific Adobe product in use (Flash Player, Flash Player for Android, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK)
  2. Identify the exact version number currently installed
  3. For Flash Player on Windows/Mac: upgrade to 10.3.183.29 or 11.4.402.287 or later
  4. For Flash Player on Linux: upgrade to 10.3.183.29 or 11.2.202.243 or later
  5. For Flash Player on Android 2.x/3.x: upgrade to 11.1.111.19 or later
  6. For Flash Player on Android 4.x: upgrade to 11.1.115.20 or later
  7. For Adobe AIR: upgrade to 3.4.0.2710 or later
  8. For Adobe AIR SDK: upgrade to 3.4.0.2710 or later
Caveat Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life in December 2020; consider migrating to modern web technologies as Flash is no longer supported

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

Fix this in Flash Player Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2012-5254 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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