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AirApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-4430

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 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 13.0.0.302 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-2015-3131, CVE-2015-3132, CVE-2015-3136, CVE-2015-3137, CVE-2015-4428, and CVE-2015-5117.

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

A use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, and Adobe AIR SDK allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed, potentially enabling attackers to manipulate memory and inject malicious code.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.302 (Windows/OS X) or 11.2.202.481 (Linux), and Adobe AIR/SDK to version 18.0.0.180 or later. For end-of-life Flash environments, uninstall or disable Flash Player entirely.

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
AirApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.144
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.144
Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.144
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

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 if Adobe Flash Player is installed
    On Windows, inspect the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\Version or check for flash.ocx in System32/SysWOW64. On macOS, look for /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Flash Player.plugin. On Linux, check /usr/lib/flash-plugin or /usr/share/adobe-flashplugin.
    Affected if The product is present on the system
  2. Determine installed Flash Player version
    Read the version from the registry value, file properties of flash.ocx, or the plugin bundle on macOS. In Windows, you can also run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\Version' in PowerShell.
    Affected if The version matches any of the affected ranges: <= 13.0.0.289, or any of 14.0.0.125/145/176/179, 15.0.0.152/167/189/223/239/246, or 16.0.0.235
  3. Check for Adobe AIR installation
    On Windows, look in Program Files\Adobe for an AIR folder or check Add/Remove Programs. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe AIR Installer.app or search for 'Adobe AIR' in system info.
    Affected if Adobe AIR or Adobe AIR SDK is present on the system
  4. Determine installed Adobe AIR version
    On Windows, check the version of the AIR installer or the Adobe AIR folder in Program Files. On macOS, right-click Adobe AIR Installer.app and select Get Info to view the version.
    Affected if The version is <= 18.0.0.144 (including 18.0.0.144 itself)
  5. Identify Adobe AIR SDK or Compiler installations
    If you develop with AIR, check the SDK directory (commonly in C:\Program Files\Adobe or a custom SDK path) for the AIR SDK version file, or check the AIR SDK version via the command line if available.
    Affected if The AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler version is <= 18.0.0.144

You are affected if any installed version of Adobe Flash Player matches the affected version list (specific 14.x, 15.x, 16.x releases or any 13.x at or below 0.289) OR if Adobe AIR/SDK/Compiler is at version 18.0.0.144 or lower.

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 18.0.0.144
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 13.0.0.302 (Windows/OS X) or 11.2.202.481 (Linux), and Adobe AIR/SDK to version 18.0.0.180 or later. For end-of-life Flash environments, uninstall or disable Flash Player entirely.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.203 (or 13.0.0.302 for 13.x branch, 11.2.202.481 for Linux); AIR 18.0.0.180; AIR SDK 18.0.0.180; AIR SDK & Compiler 18.0.0.180

  1. 1. Identify the exact Adobe Flash Player or AIR version currently installed by checking Help > About in the Flash Player or AIR application
  2. 2. For Windows/OS X systems with Flash Player 14.x-18.x: upgrade to Flash Player 18.0.0.203 or later
  3. 3. For Windows/OS X systems with Flash Player 13.x: upgrade to Flash Player 13.0.0.302 or later
  4. 4. For Linux systems: upgrade to Flash Player 11.2.202.481 or later
  5. 5. For Adobe AIR users: upgrade to AIR 18.0.0.180 or later
  6. 6. For Adobe AIR SDK developers: upgrade to AIR SDK 18.0.0.180 or later
  7. 7. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler users: upgrade to AIR SDK & Compiler 18.0.0.180 or later
  8. 8. Verify the installation of the patched version by checking the About section
Caveat Upgrading Flash Player or AIR may cause compatibility issues with older web content or applications that rely on specific plugin behaviors; ensure testing in non-production environment first

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

Fix this in Air Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2015-4430 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • 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