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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2012-5261

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
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 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than other Flash Player memory corruption 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 · moderate confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allowing arbitrary code execution or denial of service. Affects specific versions across Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Android. The vulnerability stems from unspecified vectors causing memory corruption, distinct from other CVEs in APSB12-22.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 10.3.183.29/11.4.402.287 (Windows/Mac), 11.2.202.243 (Linux), 11.1.111.19 (Android 2.x/3.x), or 11.1.115.20 (Android 4.x); update Adobe AIR to 3.4.0.2710.

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. Identify installed Adobe product
    Check installed programs or running processes for Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK. On Windows, use Programs and Features or check for flash*.ocx, NPSWF32.dll, or AIR application files.
    Affected if Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or AIR SDK is installed on the system
  2. Determine Flash Player version on Windows
    Check the file version of the Flash Player ActiveX control (flash.ocx) in C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\ or the Netscape plugin (NPSWF32.dll) in browser plugin directories.
    Affected if The file version matches one of the affected versions listed in the CVE (10.3.183.25 and below, specific 10.1.x, 10.2.x, 10.3.x versions, or 11.x versions up to the fixed releases)
  3. Determine Flash Player version on Mac OS X or Linux
    Check the file version of the Flash Player plugin in /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ (Mac) or the browser plugin directory (Linux).
    Affected if The file version matches one of the affected versions listed in the CVE for Mac or Linux
  4. Determine Adobe AIR version
    Check the installed AIR version through the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ or by examining the airappid runtime files.
    Affected if The installed AIR version is 3.4.0.2540 or below, or matches any of the specific affected 1.0.x, 1.1.x, 1.5.x versions listed
  5. Determine Adobe AIR SDK version
    Check the version of the installed AIR SDK by examining the SDK version file or AIR runtime files in the installation directory.
    Affected if The AIR SDK version is 3.4.0.2540 or below

The system is affected if any Adobe Flash Player, AIR, or AIR SDK version matches the specific versions or version ranges listed in the CVE for the relevant platform.

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

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 10.3.183.29/11.4.402.287 (Windows/Mac), 11.2.202.243 (Linux), 11.1.111.19 (Android 2.x/3.x), or 11.1.115.20 (Android 4.x); update Adobe AIR to 3.4.0.2710.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 10.3.183.29+/11.4.402.287+ (Windows/Mac), 11.2.202.243+ (Linux), 11.1.111.19+ (Android 2.x/3.x), 11.1.115.20+ (Android 4.x); Adobe AIR 3.4.0.2710+; Adobe AIR SDK 3.4.0.2710+

  1. Identify the specific Adobe product (Flash Player, Flash Player for Android, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK) and version currently installed
  2. Determine the target platform (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, or Android)
  3. For Flash Player 10.x on Windows/Mac: upgrade to version 10.3.183.29 or later
  4. For Flash Player 11.x on Windows/Mac: upgrade to version 11.4.402.287 or later
  5. For Flash Player 11.x on Linux: upgrade to version 11.2.202.243 or later
  6. For Flash Player on Android 2.x/3.x: upgrade to version 11.1.111.19 or later
  7. For Flash Player on Android 4.x: upgrade to version 11.1.115.20 or later
  8. For Adobe AIR: upgrade to version 3.4.0.2710 or later
Caveat Adobe Flash Player is deprecated and no longer supported as of December 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based applications

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2012-5261 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