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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-3103

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-06-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.0.0.172 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
Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.292 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.160 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.466 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 18.0.0.144 on Windows and before 18.0.0.143 on OS X and Android, Adobe AIR SDK before 18.0.0.144 on Windows and before 18.0.0.143 on OS X, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 18.0.0.144 on Windows and before 18.0.0.143 on OS X allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3106 and CVE-2015-3107.

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR allowing arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability exists due to improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed, enabling attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.292/18.0.0.160 or later (11.2.202.466 on Linux), and Adobe AIR to 18.0.0.144/18.0.143 or later. Given CVSS 10, this should be treated as critical and patched immediately.

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:<= 13.0.0.289= 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= 16.0.0.235
AirApplication
Affected:<= 17.0.0.144<= 17.0.0.172
AndroidOperating system
Affected:all versions
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 17.0.0.172
Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication
Affected:<= 17.0.0.172

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. Check Adobe Flash Player version on Windows
    Open a browser and navigate to 'about:flash' in the URL bar, or visit the Adobe version checker page at https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html. The version displayed is the installed Flash Player version.
    Affected if The displayed version is 13.0.0.289 or earlier, or matches any of these: 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, or 16.0.0.235
  2. Check Adobe AIR version on Windows
    Open Control Panel and navigate to Programs and Features, or check the Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Adobe AIR for the Version string.
    Affected if The installed version is 17.0.0.144 or earlier, or 17.0.0.172 or earlier (both ranges are affected).
  3. Check for Flash Player on Linux systems
    Run the command 'rpm -q flash-player' or check the file /usr/lib/flash-plugin/libflashplayer.so for version metadata using 'strings' or examining the file properties.
    Affected if The installed version matches any of the affected versions listed in the Adobe Flash Player range.
  4. Check if Adobe AIR SDK or Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler is installed
    Inspect the AIR SDK installation directory for version.txt or manifest file, or check the application's metadata files for the SDK version number.
    Affected if The SDK version is 17.0.0.172 or earlier.
  5. Check for Flash Player on Google Android
    Navigate to Settings > Apps > Adobe Flash Player on the Android device, or check the installed packages for 'com.adobe.flashplayer' via ADB with 'adb shell pm list packages' or via device settings.
    Affected if Adobe Flash Player is installed on any Google Android device (all versions are affected).

The environment is affected if any installed instance of Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, Adobe AIR SDK, or Flash Player on Android matches the affected version ranges listed in the CVE.

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 17.0.0.172
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.292/18.0.0.160 or later (11.2.202.466 on Linux), and Adobe AIR to 18.0.0.144/18.0.143 or later. Given CVSS 10, this should be treated as critical and patched immediately.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 13.0.0.292 or 18.0.0.160+; Adobe AIR 18.0.0.144 (Windows) / 18.0.0.143 (OS X/Android); Adobe AIR SDK 18.0.0.144 (Windows) / 18.0.0.143 (OS X)

  1. Navigate to Adobe's official download page or use your system's software update mechanism
  2. For Flash Player: Download and install version 13.0.0.292 (for 13.x branch) or version 18.0.0.160 or later (for 14.x-18.x branch)
  3. For Adobe AIR: Download and install version 18.0.0.144 (Windows) or 18.0.0.143 (OS X/Android)
  4. For Adobe AIR SDK: Update to version 18.0.0.144 (Windows) or 18.0.0.143 (OS X)
  5. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release by checking Help > About in Flash Player or AIR
  6. Restart any browser or application using Flash Player/AIR after the update
Caveat Flash Player and Adobe AIR reached end-of-life in December 2020; no further security updates will be provided by Adobe

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
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
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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-2015-3103 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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