CVE-2015-3117
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 · uneditedAdobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.302 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.203 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.481 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 18.0.0.180, Adobe AIR SDK before 18.0.0.180, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 18.0.0.180 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3123, CVE-2015-3130, CVE-2015-3133, CVE-2015-3134, and CVE-2015-4431.
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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via unspecified vectors. Affects Flash Player versions before 13.0.0.302 and 14.x-18.x before 18.0.0.203 on Windows/OS X, and before 11.2.202.481 on Linux, as well as AIR versions before 18.0.0.180.
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<= 18.0.0.144<= 18.0.0.144<= 18.0.0.144<= 11.2.202.468<= 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= 15.0.0.246CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Flash Player version in browsersOpen browser plugin settings or visit 'about:plugins' (Firefox) or chrome://plugins (Chrome) to list the Flash Player plugin version, or check the file properties of npctrl.dll (NPAPI) or pepflashplayer.dll (PPAPI) in the browser's plugin directoriesAffected if The displayed version is 11.2.202.468 or earlier, 13.0.0.289 or earlier, or any of these specific versions: 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
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Check standalone Flash Player installation on WindowsLocate the Flash Player installation directory (commonly in System32 or Program Files) and view the version property of flash32_XXX.ocx or flash64_XXX.ocx, or check Add/Remove Programs for the Adobe Flash Player entryAffected if The installed version matches any of the affected Flash Player versions listed in the CVE
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Check Adobe AIR version on Windows or macOSOpen the Adobe AIR application list (on Windows: Check the version in Add/Remove Programs; on macOS: Check /Applications/Adobe AIR folder or the application's info.plist), or locate air.swf or the AIR runtime in the installation directory and check its file versionAffected if The AIR version is 18.0.0.144 or earlier (the fixed version is 18.0.0.180)
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Verify Adobe AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler installationIf the AIR SDK is installed for development, check the version file or manifest within the SDK directory (typically named version.properties or found in the SDK's root), or run 'adl -version' from the SDK bin directory if availableAffected if The SDK version is 18.0.0.144 or earlier
The environment is affected if any installed Adobe Flash Player or Adobe AIR version falls within the vulnerable version ranges specified in the CVE.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedUpgrade Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.302, 18.0.0.203, or later (11.2.202.481 or later on Linux), and Adobe AIR to 18.0.0.180 or later. Consider removing Flash Player if unnecessary given its end-of-life status.
Flash Player: 13.0.0.302+ (13.x branch), 18.0.0.203+ (14.x-18.x branch), 11.2.202.481+ (Linux); Adobe AIR/SDK: 18.0.0.180+
- 1. Identify the installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html or checking About Flash Player in the browser
- 2. Identify the installed Adobe AIR version from Control Panel (Windows) or Applications folder (Mac)
- 3. For Flash Player on Windows or OS X: If using version 13.x, upgrade to 13.0.0.302 or later; if using version 14.x-18.x, upgrade to 18.0.0.203 or later
- 4. For Flash Player on Linux: Upgrade to version 11.2.202.481 or later
- 5. For Adobe AIR desktop runtime: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.180 or later
- 6. For Adobe AIR SDK: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.180 or later
- 7. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.180 or later
- 8. Clear browser cache and restart browsers after upgrading
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-3117 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-3117 in production — separate from our analysis above.
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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- 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