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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2014-0557

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-09-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 14.0.0.179 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 13.0.0.244 and 14.x and 15.x before 15.0.0.152 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.406 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 15.0.0.249 on Windows and OS X and before 15.0.0.252 on Android, Adobe AIR SDK before 15.0.0.249, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 15.0.0.249 do not properly restrict discovery of memory addresses, which allows attackers to bypass the ASLR protection mechanism 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

Memory address disclosure vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR that fails to properly restrict discovery of memory addresses, allowing attackers to bypass ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) protection mechanism. This makes exploitation of other memory corruption vulnerabilities significantly easier.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.244 or later (14.x/15.x to 15.0.0.152+), or Adobe AIR to 15.0.0.249 or later. For end-of-life Flash installations, uninstall or disable the plugin.

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:<= 11.2.202.400= 11.2.202.223= 11.2.202.228= 11.2.202.233= 11.2.202.235= 11.2.202.236= 11.2.202.238= 11.2.202.243= 11.2.202.251= 11.2.202.258= 11.2.202.261= 11.2.202.262
Adobe Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 14.0.0.178= 13.0.0.83= 13.0.0.111= 14.0.0.110= 14.0.0.137
Adobe AirApplication
Affected:<= 14.0.0.178= 13.0.0.83= 13.0.0.111= 14.0.0.110= 14.0.0.137<= 14.0.0.179

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. Detect Adobe Flash Player in browsers
    Check common browser plugin locations: On Windows, look for NPSWF32.dll (Firefox) in C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\ or flash*.ocx (IE) in System32; On Linux, check /usr/lib/flash-plugin/ or /usr/lib64/flash-plugin/; On Mac, check /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/Flash\ Player.plugin
    Affected if Any Flash Player plugin file exists in the browser plugins directory
  2. Determine Flash Player version on Windows
    For IE/ActiveX: Check file version of flash*.ocx in System32 or SysWOW64. Right-click the file, select Properties, then Details tab. For Firefox/npapi: Check NPSWF32.dll version in the Macromed\Flash subfolder. Or open Flash Player about page in browser at https://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
    Affected if File version is 11.2.202.400 or lower, OR matches any of these exact versions: 11.2.202.223, 11.2.202.228, 11.2.202.233, 11.2.202.235, 11.2.202.236, 11.2.202.238, 11.2.202.243, 11.2.202.251, 11.2.202.258, 11.2.202.261, 11.2.202.262
  3. Determine Flash Player version on Mac or Linux
    On Mac: Check /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/Flash\ Player.plugin/Contents/info.plist for CFBundleVersion, or run: defaults read /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/Flash\ Player.plugin/Contents/Info CFBundleVersion. On Linux: Check version file in the plugin directory or run: rpm -q flash-plugin or dpkg -l | grep flash
    Affected if Version is 11.2.202.400 or lower, OR matches any of the specific versions listed in the affected ranges
  4. Detect Adobe AIR installation
    On Windows: Check Control Panel > Programs and Features for Adobe AIR entry, or check C:\Program Files\Adobe\AIR\versions.txt or the AIR version in registry HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{AppID}. On Mac: Check /Applications/Adobe AIR Installer.app or run: ls /Applications | grep -i air
    Affected if Adobe AIR is installed and version is 14.0.0.178 or lower, OR matches any of these exact versions: 13.0.0.83, 13.0.0.111, 14.0.0.110, 14.0.0.137, or 14.0.0.179 (Linux/SDK)
  5. Verify affected configuration
    The vulnerability is present regardless of configuration. The flaw is in how Flash Player and AIR handle certain operations that disclose memory addresses. No specific setting needs to be enabled for the vulnerability to exist - it is a built-in behavior of the affected versions that leaks memory addresses to web content.
    Affected if The installed Flash Player or Adobe AIR version falls within any of the affected version ranges listed

You are affected if Adobe Flash Player version is 11.2.202.400 or below (or matches any of the specific affected point versions), OR Adobe AIR version is 14.0.0.178 or below (or matches any of the specific affected point versions).

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 14.0.0.179
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.244 or later (14.x/15.x to 15.0.0.152+), or Adobe AIR to 15.0.0.249 or later. For end-of-life Flash installations, uninstall or disable the plugin.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 13.0.0.244+ (or 15.0.0.152+ for 14.x/15.x track) / 11.2.202.406+ for Linux; Adobe AIR 15.0.0.249+

  1. 1. Identify the installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to 'About Flash Player' in the Help menu or visiting https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html
  2. 2. Identify the installed Adobe AIR version by checking 'About Adobe AIR' in the system tray or application menu
  3. 3. Download the patched versions from the official Adobe security bulletin at http://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb14-21.html
  4. 4. Uninstall existing Adobe Flash Player installations via Control Panel > Programs and Features
  5. 5. Uninstall existing Adobe AIR installations via Control Panel > Programs and Features
  6. 6. Install Adobe Flash Player 13.0.0.244 or higher (or 15.0.0.152+ for the 14.x/15.x track)
  7. 7. Install Adobe AIR 15.0.0.249 or higher
  8. 8. Restart all browsers and verify the update via the Adobe version checker
Caveat Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020; upgrading may not be possible on modern systems without alternative browsers or legacy support configurations

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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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-2014-0557 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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