dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 4 May 2022.
Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-0311

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2015-01-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.0.0.287 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS 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
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player through 13.0.0.262 and 14.x, 15.x, and 16.x through 16.0.0.287 on Windows and OS X and through 11.2.202.438 on Linux allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors, as exploited in the wild in January 2015.

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

A critical, actively-exploited vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player (versions through 16.0.0.287 on Windows/OS X and 11.2.202.438 on Linux) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors. The vulnerability was being exploited in the wild as of January 2015.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player immediately to the latest patched version, or disable/remove Flash Player if patching is not feasible.

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:<= 11.2.202.438<= 13.0.0.262>= 14.0.0.125, < 16.0.0.287
Linux Enterprise DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 11= 12
Linux Enterprise Workstation ExtensionOperating system
Affected:= 12
Internet ExplorerApplication
Affected:= 10= 11
EdgeWeb browser
Affected:all versions

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 Flash Player version on Windows or macOS
    Open Windows Control Panel or macOS System Preferences, locate Adobe Flash Player, or visit Adobe's version check page at adobe.com/software/flash/about in any browser. Alternatively, check the file version of NPSWF32.dll (Windows) or Flash Player.plugin (macOS) in the Flash Player installation directory.
    Affected if The installed version is 13.0.0.262 or earlier, 14.0.0.125 through 16.0.0.286, or 11.2.202.438 or earlier on Linux.
  2. Identify Adobe Flash Player version on Linux
    Open a terminal and run 'rpm -q flash-player' for RPM-based distributions, or check the version via the software package manager. For browsers with NPAPI Flash, inspect the plugin in about:plugins.
    Affected if The installed version is 11.2.202.438 or earlier.
  3. Check if Flash is enabled in Internet Explorer
    Open Internet Explorer, navigate to Manage Add-ons via the Tools menu (gear icon), then view the list of Toolbars and Extensions. Locate the Shockwave Flash Object and verify its status.
    Affected if The Shockwave Flash Object is listed as Enabled and the underlying Flash Player version falls within the affected ranges.
  4. Check if Flash is enabled in Microsoft Edge
    Open Microsoft Edge, type 'about:flags' in the address bar, or access Settings > Advanced settings and look for the Adobe Flash setting. Verify whether Flash is allowed or blocked.
    Affected if Adobe Flash is enabled in Edge and no separate Flash version check shows a patched release.
  5. Check for Flash plugin in other browsers (Chrome, Firefox)
    For Chrome, navigate to chrome://plugins and locate the Flash entry. For Firefox, navigate to about:addons and check the Plugins section. Note the version listed.
    Affected if The Flash plugin version shown is within the affected version ranges.

A system is affected if any installed Adobe Flash Player version matches <= 11.2.202.438, <= 13.0.0.262, or >= 14.0.0.125 but < 16.0.0.287, and Flash is enabled in any browser or standalone installation.

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 16.0.0.287 or later
Fixed in 16.0.0.287
Vendor patch technet.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player immediately to the latest patched version, or disable/remove Flash Player if patching is not feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Flash Player 16.0.0.296 (Windows/OS X) or 13.0.0.289 (Windows/OS X extended support) or 11.2.202.452 (Linux)

  1. 1. Identify the installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to the Adobe Flash Player version check page or checking the program's version information.
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate fixed version based on your platform and current version: For Windows/OS X 13.x, upgrade to 13.0.0.289 or later; For Windows/OS X 14.x/15.x/16.x, upgrade to 16.0.0.296 or later; For Linux, upgrade to 11.2.202.452 or later (the Linux fix was released in a separate update).
  3. 3. Download the Adobe Flash Player installer from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/flashplayer) or your organization's software distribution point.
  4. 4. Uninstall the current Adobe Flash Player version via Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or via the Adobe cleanup tool if standard uninstallation fails.
  5. 5. Restart the browser and system if prompted after uninstallation.
  6. 6. Install the downloaded fixed version of Adobe Flash Player.
  7. 7. Verify the installation by checking the Flash Player version at the Adobe verification page to confirm the version matches the fixed release.
  8. 8. Ensure browser restart is complete and verify Flash content renders correctly in browsers.
Caveat Flash Player end-of-life was announced in December 2020 - consider migrating away from Flash-based content as Adobe Flash Player is no longer supported

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

Fix this in Flash Player Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-0311 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2015-0311 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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