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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2012-5278

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-11-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.5.0.600 / 10.3.183.43 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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 10.3.183.43 and 11.x before 11.5.502.110 on Windows and Mac OS X, before 10.3.183.43 and 11.x before 11.2.202.251 on Linux, before 11.1.111.24 on Android 2.x and 3.x, and before 11.1.115.27 on Android 4.x; Adobe AIR before 3.5.0.600; and Adobe AIR SDK before 3.5.0.600 allow attackers to bypass intended access restrictions and execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-264

A legacy NVD category covering weaknesses where permissions or privileges are assigned, checked, or dropped incorrectly, so an action ends up running with more access than it should. It is an umbrella label from older records, not a single flaw. The remedy depends on the specific case, but the throughline is least privilege with explicit, checked transitions wherever privilege changes.

General guidance for the permissions, privileges & access controls class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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, < 10.3.183.43>= 11.4, < 11.5.502.110>= 11.2, < 11.2.202.251>= 11.1, < 11.1.111.24>= 11.1, < 11.1.115.27
AirApplication
Affected:< 3.5.0.600
Air SdkApplication
Affected:< 3.5.0.600

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

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 3.5.0.600 / 10.3.183.43 / 11.1.111.24 or later
Fixed in 3.5.0.60010.3.183.4311.1.111.24
Vendor patch www.adobe.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 10.3.183.43+ / 11.5.502.110+ (Win/Mac) / 11.2.202.251+ (Linux) / 11.1.111.24+ (Android); Adobe AIR 3.5.0.600+; Adobe AIR SDK 3.5.0.600+

  1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to 'About Flash Player' in the right-click menu or visiting adobe.com/software/flash/about
  2. Download the appropriate fixed version from adobe.com: Flash Player 10.3.183.43 or later for 10.x branches; Flash Player 11.5.502.110 or later for 11.4+ (Windows/Mac), 11.2.202.251 or later for Linux, or 11.1.111.24+ for Android
  3. If using Adobe AIR, upgrade to version 3.5.0.600 or later from adobe.com/get/adobeair
  4. If using Adobe AIR SDK, upgrade to version 3.5.0.600 or later from adobe.com/devnet/air.html
  5. Close all browsers and applications using Flash Player before installing the update
  6. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  7. Restart browsers after installation and verify the new version via adobe.com/software/flash/about
Caveat Flash Player reached end-of-life in December 2020; modern browsers have removed Flash support - consider migrating away from Flash-based content entirely

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,950. Get the upgrade done

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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-2012-5278 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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