Adobe AirApplication · Adobe

CVE-2014-0542

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

Official description

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 do not properly restrict discovery of memory addresses, which allows attackers to bypass the ASLR protection mechanism via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2014-0540, CVE-2014-0543, CVE-2014-0544, and CVE-2014-0545.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Adobe Flash Player and AIR contain a vulnerability that allows discovery of memory addresses, enabling bypass of ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) protection. This information disclosure flaw can be leveraged by attackers to facilitate more dangerous exploits like remote code execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.241/14.0.0.176 or later (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.400 or later (Linux), and AIR to 14.0.0.178 or later (Windows/OS X) or 14.0.0.179 or later (Android).

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Adobe AirApplication

Affected:<= 14.0.0.137= 13.0.0.83= 13.0.0.111= 14.0.0.110<= 14.0.0.110

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 Air SdkApplication

Affected:<= 14.0.0.137= 13.0.0.83= 13.0.0.111= 14.0.0.110

CVSS breakdown

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?

dbcve checks

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

Check Adobe Flash Player version in Windows browsers

Open a browser and navigate to 'about:plugins' (Firefox) or 'chrome://plugins' (Chrome). Look for the Flash Player entry and note the Version field. Alternatively, right-click on any Flash content and select 'About Adobe Flash Player' or check Add/Remove Programs for 'Adobe Flash Player XX'

Affected if The installed version is 11.2.202.223, 11.2.202.228, 11.2.202.233, any version <= 11.2.202.394, 13.0.0.182, 13.0.0.201, 13.0.0.206, 13.0.0.214, 13.0.0.223, any version <= 13.0.0.231, 14.0.0.125, 14.0.0.145, or any version <= 14.0.0.110
Check Adobe Flash Player version on Linux

Open a terminal and run 'rpm -q flash-player-plugin' or 'dpkg -l | grep flash' depending on package manager. Also check /usr/lib/flash-plugin/ for the version file

Affected if The installed version is 11.2.202.223, 11.2.202.228, 11.2.202.233, or any version <= 11.2.202.394
Check Adobe AIR installed version on Windows

Open Control Panel and navigate to 'Programs and Features' (or Add/Remove Programs). Look for 'Adobe AIR' in the list and note the version column. Alternatively, check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Adobe AIR

Affected if The installed version is 13.0.0.83, 13.0.0.111, 14.0.0.110, or any version <= 14.0.0.137
Check Adobe AIR SDK version

If you have the Adobe AIR SDK installed, locate the AIR SDK folder and open the 'VERSION' or 'readme.txt' file, or run 'air-sdk-version' if available. Check the SDK version string

Affected if The SDK version is 13.0.0.83, 13.0.0.111, 14.0.0.110, or any version <= 14.0.0.137

Your environment is affected if Adobe Flash Player or AIR is installed with any version matching the specific versions or version ranges listed in the affected products, as this vulnerability allows memory address disclosure that can bypass ASLR protection.

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

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 14.0.0.137

Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.241/14.0.0.176 or later (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.400 or later (Linux), and AIR to 14.0.0.178 or later (Windows/OS X) or 14.0.0.179 or later (Android).

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Flash Player 13.0.0.241+, 14.0.0.176+, or 11.2.202.400 (Linux); Adobe AIR 14.0.0.178+ (Win/OS X), 14.0.0.179+ (Android); Adobe AIR SDK 14.0.0.178+

Identify the exact installed version of Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK by checking About or the version number in the installer filename
For Adobe Flash Player 13.x on Windows/OS X: Upgrade to version 13.0.0.241 or later
For Adobe Flash Player 14.x on Windows/OS X: Upgrade to version 14.0.0.176 or later
For Adobe Flash Player on Linux: Upgrade to version 11.2.202.400 or later
For Adobe AIR on Windows/OS X: Upgrade to version 14.0.0.178 or later
For Adobe AIR on Android: Upgrade to version 14.0.0.179 or later
For Adobe AIR SDK: Upgrade to version 14.0.0.178 or later
Verify the update was applied successfully by checking the installed version

Caveat Flash Player and AIR reached end-of-life in December 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based content as modern browsers have already removed Flash support

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

Fix this in Adobe Air Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation1.0 h
Implementation2.0 h
Testing1.0 h
Review / QA1.0 h

5.0 hours of engineering $890

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Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-0542 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2014-0542?

The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.

The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
A config change or rule that shut the vector down
A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 14.0.0.137 or later

Severity 10.0 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 4.0%

Affects: Adobe Air

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Adobe Air 5 hrs · Low

Typical engagement from $890

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2014-0542 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References