Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-3131

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-07-09

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to after 18.0.0.144 or later.

See remediation →

100/100

Remediation priority · Urgent

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe 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 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3118, CVE-2015-3124, CVE-2015-3127, CVE-2015-3128, CVE-2015-3129, CVE-2015-3132, CVE-2015-3136, CVE-2015-3137, CVE-2015-4428, CVE-2015-4430, and CVE-2015-5117.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management where the program continues using a pointer after the associated memory has been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to control memory and execute arbitrary code.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.302/18.0.0.203 or later (depending on branch), and Adobe AIR/Adobe AIR SDK to version 18.0.0.180 or later. Organizations should prioritize patching given the critical CVSS score of 10 and the availability of working exploits.

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:<= 11.2.202.468<= 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= 15.0.0.246

AirApplication

Affected:<= 18.0.0.144

Air SdkApplication

Affected:<= 18.0.0.144

Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication

Affected:<= 18.0.0.144

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 Internet Explorer or Chrome, navigate to https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html, or open regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\CurrentVersion (32-bit) or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\CurrentVersion (64-bit)

Affected if The version shown is any of these: 11.2.202.468 or earlier; 13.0.0.289 or earlier; 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 (these exact versions are vulnerable)
Check Adobe Flash Player version on Linux

Open a terminal and run: rpm -q flash-plugin (RPM-based) or dpkg -l | grep flash (Debian-based)

Affected if The version output matches any vulnerable version listed above (11.2.x <= 202.468, 13.x <= 0.289, 14.x series listed, 15.x series listed)
Check Adobe AIR version on Windows

Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for Adobe AIR in the installed programs list, or check the version in C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe AIR\Version.txt

Affected if The installed version is 18.0.0.144 or earlier (any version <= 18.0.0.144)
Check Adobe AIR SDK version

Navigate to the Adobe AIR SDK installation directory and locate the version file, or run: adt -version if the SDK tools are in PATH

Affected if The SDK version is 18.0.0.144 or earlier

A user is affected if Adobe Flash Player matches any of the specific vulnerable versions (11.2.x <= 202.468, 13.x <= 0.289, any 14.x or 15.x version listed) or if Adobe AIR/SDK/Compiler is version 18.0.0.144 or earlier.

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

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 18.0.0.144

Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →

Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.302/18.0.0.203 or later (depending on branch), and Adobe AIR/Adobe AIR SDK to version 18.0.0.180 or later. Organizations should prioritize patching given the critical CVSS score of 10 and the availability of working exploits.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 13.0.0.302+ (13.x branch), 18.0.0.203+ (14.x-18.x branch), or 11.2.202.481+ (Linux); Adobe AIR/SDK 18.0.0.180+

1. Identify the currently installed version of Adobe Flash Player or Adobe AIR by navigating to the Adobe Flash Player version checker page or checking the application properties.
2. Determine which product and version family is installed (Flash Player 11.x, 13.x, or 14.x-18.x; Adobe AIR; or Adobe AIR SDK).
3. For Flash Player on Windows or OS X: If using 13.x branch, upgrade to version 13.0.0.302 or later; if using 14.x-18.x branch, upgrade to version 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, Adobe AIR SDK, or Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.180 or later.
6. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Adobe security bulletin (APSB15-16) at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-16.html
7. Uninstall the current vulnerable version through the system's control panel or application remover.
8. Install the patched version and restart any affected applications or browsers.

Caveat Flash Player is deprecated and reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020; modern browsers have removed Flash support; consider migrating to HTML5-based alternatives

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
Implementation2.0 h
Testing2.0 h
Review / QA1.0 h

7.0 hours of engineering $1,240

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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-2015-3131 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2015-3131?

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 18.0.0.144 or later

Severity 10.0 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 6.7%

Affects: Flash Player

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Flash Player 7 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $1,240

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2015-3131 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