Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-3088

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

High EPSS Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

Heap-based buffer overflow in 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 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allowing arbitrary code execution via unspecified vectors. The flaw exists in how Flash handles certain data structures in memory, enabling attackers to overflow heap allocations and inject malicious code.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.289 or later (Windows/OS X) / 11.2.202.460 or later (Linux), and Adobe AIR to 17.0.0.172 or later. Remove or disable Flash Player where possible 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

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

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

Open a browser and go to https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html, or in Internet Explorer/Firefox enter 'about:plugin' in address bar and look for Flash Player details. Alternatively, check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\Version or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\Version

Affected if Installed version is 11.2.202.475 or earlier, 13.0.0.264 or earlier, any of 14.0.0.125/145/176/179, or any of 15.0.0.152/167/189/223/239/246
Check Adobe Flash Player version in macOS

Open Finder, go to /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ and look for Flash Player.plugin. Right-click and Show Package Contents, then check Info.plist for CFBundleVersion, or visit https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html in a browser

Affected if Installed version is 11.2.202.475 or earlier, 13.0.0.264 or earlier, any of 14.0.0.125/145/176/179, or any of 15.0.0.152/167/189/223/239/246
Check Adobe Flash Player version in Linux

Open terminal and run: rpm -q flash-plugin or dpkg -l | grep flash, or check /usr/lib/flash-plugin/ for the version file, or visit https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html in a browser

Affected if Installed version is 11.2.202.460 or earlier (Linux-specific threshold)
Check Adobe AIR version

Open Control Panel (Windows) or Applications folder (Mac) and look for Adobe AIR. On Windows, check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\AIR\Version. On Mac, right-click Adobe AIR.app and check Get Info for version

Affected if Installed version is 17.0.0.144 or earlier
Check Adobe AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler version

Check the AIR SDK directory: look for a version.properties or similar version file within the SDK installation folder, or run 'air-version' command if available in the SDK bin directory

Affected if Installed SDK version is 17.0.0.144 or earlier
Verify if Flash Player is enabled in browsers

Check each installed browser's add-on or extension manager: In Chrome enter chrome://plugins, in Firefox go to Add-ons > Plugins, in Safari go to Preferences > Security > Plug-in Settings. Look for Shockwave Flash Object

Affected if Flash Player is installed and enabled in any browser, AND the version falls within the affected ranges above

A user is affected if Adobe Flash Player (any browser-enabled installation) is present at version 11.2.202.475 or earlier, 13.0.0.264 or earlier, 14.x series, or 15.x series up to 15.0.0.246; or if Adobe AIR or AIR SDK is at version 17.0.0.144 or earlier.

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

Remediation

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 or later (Windows/OS X) / 11.2.202.460 or later (Linux), and Adobe AIR to 17.0.0.172 or later. Remove or disable Flash Player where possible given its end-of-life status.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 17.0.0.188 (or 13.0.0.289 for 13.x, 11.2.202.460 for Linux); Adobe AIR 17.0.0.172

1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to 'About Flash Player' in the right-click context menu or checking the version in the Windows Programs and Features list
2. Identify the currently installed Adobe AIR version in Windows Programs and Features
3. Uninstall the vulnerable version of Adobe Flash Player via Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features
4. Uninstall the vulnerable version of Adobe AIR if installed
5. Download the patched version from the official Adobe security bulletin at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-09.html
6. For Flash Player 13.x, upgrade to version 13.0.0.289 or later
7. For Flash Player 14.x-17.x on Windows/OS X, upgrade to version 17.0.0.188 or later
8. For Flash Player on Linux, upgrade to version 11.2.202.460 or later

Caveat Adobe Flash Player is deprecated and no longer supported as of December 31, 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

Consultation4.0 h
Implementation8.0 h
Testing4.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

18.0 hours of engineering $3,200

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-3088 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2015-3088?

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

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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

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 17.0.0.144 or later

Severity 10.0 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 62.0%

Affects: Flash Player

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Flash Player 18 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $3,200

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2015-3088 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