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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-3078

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-05-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.0.0.144 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 13.0.0.289 and 14.x through 17.x before 17.0.0.188 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.460 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 17.0.0.172, Adobe AIR SDK before 17.0.0.172, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 17.0.0.172 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3089, CVE-2015-3090, and CVE-2015-3093.

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

Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR contain a memory corruption vulnerability allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. The vulnerability affects specific versions across Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.289/17.0.0.188 (or 11.2.202.460 on Linux) and Adobe AIR to 17.0.0.172, or remove Flash Player if unnecessary given its end-of-life status.

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:<= 11.2.202.475<= 13.0.0.264= 14.0.0.125= 14.0.0.145= 14.0.0.176= 14.0.0.179= 15.0.0.152= 15.0.0.167= 15.0.0.189= 15.0.0.223= 15.0.0.239= 15.0.0.246
AirApplication
Affected:<= 17.0.0.144
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 17.0.0.144
Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication
Affected:<= 17.0.0.144

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. Identify installed Adobe Flash Player version on Windows
    Open the Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\CurrentVersion, or check the file version of NPSWF32.dll located in the browser's plugins folder (e.g., C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\).
    Affected if The version listed is 11.2.202.475 or earlier, 13.0.0.264 or earlier, or one of 14.0.0.125, 14.0.0.145, 14.0.0.176, 14.0.0.179, 15.0.0.152, 15.0.0.167, 15.0.0.189, 15.0.0.223, 15.0.0.239, or 15.0.0.246.
  2. Identify installed Adobe Flash Player version on macOS or Linux
    On macOS, check /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Flash Player/ for the version, or run 'defaults read /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/Flash\ Player.plugin/Contents/Info CFBundleVersion' if installed system-wide. On Linux, check the version file in /usr/lib/flash-plugin/ or run 'rpm -q flash-plugin' or 'dpkg -l flashplugin-installer'.
    Affected if The version listed matches any of the affected versions: 11.2.202.475 or earlier, 13.0.0.264 or earlier, or any of 14.0.0.125, 14.0.0.145, 14.0.0.176, 14.0.0.179, 15.0.0.152, 15.0.0.167, 15.0.0.189, 15.0.0.223, 15.0.0.239, or 15.0.0.246.
  3. Identify installed Adobe AIR version
    On Windows, check the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\AIR for the version string, or check the file version of the AIR runtime DLL. On macOS, check /Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR/ or run 'defaults read /Applications/Adobe\ AIR\ Application\ Installer.app/Contents/Info CFBundleVersion'.
    Affected if The installed Adobe AIR version is 17.0.0.144 or any earlier version.
  4. Identify installed Adobe AIR SDK or AIR SDK Compiler version
    Check the version property in the SDK's AIRSDKDescriptor.xml file, or run 'sdkmanager -version' if the AIR SDK is installed via the SDK manager, or check the SDK version file in the SDK installation directory.
    Affected if The installed Adobe AIR SDK or Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler version is 17.0.0.144 or any earlier version.

A system is affected if Adobe Flash Player is installed with any version listed in the affected ranges, or if Adobe AIR (runtime, SDK, or SDK & Compiler) version 17.0.0.144 or earlier is present.

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 17.0.0.144
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.289/17.0.0.188 (or 11.2.202.460 on Linux) and Adobe AIR to 17.0.0.172, or remove Flash Player if unnecessary given its end-of-life status.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 13.0.0.289 (13.x), 17.0.0.188 (14.x-17.x Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.460 (Linux); AIR 17.0.0.172; AIR SDK 17.0.0.172; AIR SDK & Compiler 17.0.0.172

  1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Flash Player or AIR version by navigating to 'About Flash Player' or checking the AIR version in your application.
  2. Determine the product line: Flash Player, AIR, AIR SDK, or AIR SDK & Compiler.
  3. For Flash Player on Windows or OS X: If version is 13.x (13.0.0.264 or earlier), upgrade to 13.0.0.289 or later. If version is 14.x or 15.x or 16.x (14.0.0.125, 14.0.0.145, or any 14.x-16.x version before 17.0.0.188), upgrade to 17.0.0.188 or later.
  4. For Flash Player on Linux: If version is 11.2.202.475 or earlier, upgrade to 11.2.202.460 or later.
  5. For AIR desktop runtime: If version is 17.0.0.144 or earlier, upgrade to 17.0.0.172 or later.
  6. For AIR SDK: If version is 17.0.0.144 or earlier, upgrade to 17.0.0.172 or later.
  7. For AIR SDK & Compiler: If version is 17.0.0.144 or earlier, upgrade to 17.0.0.172 or later.
  8. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Adobe security bulletin at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-09.html
Caveat Adobe Flash Player is deprecated and no longer supported as of December 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based content

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

Fix this in Flash Player Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-2015-3078 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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