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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2014-0541

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-08-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 14.0.0.137 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 13.0.0.241 and 14.x before 14.0.0.176 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.400 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 14.0.0.178 on Windows and OS X and before 14.0.0.179 on Android, Adobe AIR SDK before 14.0.0.178, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 14.0.0.178 allow attackers to bypass intended access restrictions 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 · high confidence

This is an access control bypass vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR that allows attackers to circumvent intended security restrictions. The specific attack vectors and technical details of the bypass are not specified in the advisory. The vulnerability affects multiple versions across Windows, OS X, Linux, and Android platforms.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.241, 14.0.0.176, or 11.2.202.400 (Linux), and Adobe AIR to 14.0.0.178 or later. Consider removing Flash Player if not required, as it reached end-of-life in December 2020.

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:<= 13.0.0.231= 13.0.0.182= 13.0.0.201= 13.0.0.206= 13.0.0.214= 13.0.0.223= 14.0.0.125= 14.0.0.145<= 11.2.202.394= 11.2.202.223= 11.2.202.228= 11.2.202.233
Adobe AirApplication
Affected:<= 14.0.0.137= 13.0.0.83= 13.0.0.111= 14.0.0.110<= 14.0.0.110
Adobe Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 14.0.0.137= 13.0.0.83= 13.0.0.111= 14.0.0.110

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 Adobe Flash Player version in Windows browser
    Open Internet Explorer or Chrome, navigate to Adobe's version check page at https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html, or enter 'about:plugin' in Chrome address bar to view installed plugins
    Affected if Installed version is 13.0.0.231 or lower, or matches any of these specific versions: 13.0.0.182, 13.0.0.201, 13.0.0.206, 13.0.0.214, 13.0.0.223, 14.0.0.125, 14.0.0.145, 11.2.202.394, 11.2.202.223, 11.2.202.228, or 11.2.202.233
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version on OS X
    Open Safari, go to Safari > Preferences > Plugins, or visit the Adobe version check page
    Affected if Installed version matches any of the vulnerable versions listed in the affected ranges
  3. Check Adobe Flash Player version on Linux
    Open a terminal and run: rpm -q flash-plugin OR dpkg -l | grep -i flash, or check /usr/lib/flash-plugin directory
    Affected if Version is 11.2.202.394 or lower, or 11.2.202.223, 11.2.202.228, or 11.2.202.233
  4. Check Adobe AIR version installed
    On Windows: open Add or Remove Programs and look for Adobe AIR, or run 'airapplist' from command line if available. On Mac: check /Applications folder or System Preferences
    Affected if Installed version is 14.0.0.137 or lower, or matches these specific versions: 13.0.0.83, 13.0.0.111, 14.0.0.110
  5. Check Adobe AIR SDK version
    Open the AIR SDK installation directory and locate the 'air-sdk-version.xml' or run 'adl -version' from the SDK bin folder
    Affected if SDK version is 14.0.0.137 or lower, or matches: 13.0.0.83, 13.0.0.111, 14.0.0.110
  6. Verify if Flash Player ActiveX plugin is present
    On Windows, open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer or check C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash folder
    Affected if A Flash Player version file exists and matches the vulnerable version list

If any installed Flash Player, AIR, or AIR SDK version falls within or matches the listed affected versions, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2014-0541 access control bypass.

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 14.0.0.137
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.241, 14.0.0.176, or 11.2.202.400 (Linux), and Adobe AIR to 14.0.0.178 or later. Consider removing Flash Player if not required, as it reached end-of-life in December 2020.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 13.0.0.241+ (Windows/OS X) or 14.0.0.176+ (14.x branch) or 11.2.202.400+ (Linux); Adobe AIR 14.0.0.178+ (Windows/OS X/Android); Adobe AIR SDK 14.0.0.178+

  1. 1. Identify the installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to 'About Flash Player' in the right-click menu or checking the system's installed programs
  2. 2. Identify the installed Adobe AIR version from the system's installed programs or the AIR SDK version from the development environment
  3. 3. For Flash Player on Windows or OS X: Download and install Flash Player 13.0.0.241 or later (or 14.0.0.176 or later for the 14.x branch)
  4. 4. For Flash Player on Linux: Download and install Flash Player 11.2.202.400 or later
  5. 5. For Adobe AIR on Windows/OS X: Download and install Adobe AIR 14.0.0.178 or later
  6. 6. For Adobe AIR on Android: Download and install Adobe AIR 14.0.0.179 or later
  7. 7. For Adobe AIR SDK: Download and install Adobe AIR SDK 14.0.0.178 or later
  8. 8. Verify the installation by checking the updated version numbers in the respective 'About' sections
Caveat Adobe Flash Player and AIR are end-of-life products; consider migrating to modern web technologies as Adobe officially ended support for Flash Player on December 31, 2020

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,270
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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-2014-0541 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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