dbcve.org
Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5131

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-08-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 18.0.0.209 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS Public exploit 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
Buffer overflow in Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.232 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.508 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 18.0.0.199, Adobe AIR SDK before 18.0.0.199, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 18.0.0.199 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-5132 and CVE-2015-5133.

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 buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. This critical flaw affects multiple product versions across Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms, with a CVSS score of 10 indicating complete system compromise potential.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.232 (Windows/OS X) or 11.2.202.508 (Linux), and Adobe AIR to 18.0.0.199, or preferably remove Flash entirely 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 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:<= 18.0.0.209<= 11.2.202.491
AirApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.180
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.180
Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.180
EvergreenOperating system
Affected:= 11.4

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 Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\CurrentVersion, or check the file properties of NPSWF64.dll or flash32_18_0_0_209.ocx in C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\
    Affected if The listed version is 18.0.0.209 or lower, or 11.2.202.491 or lower on Linux
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version on Linux
    Run 'rpm -q flash-player' or 'dpkg -l | grep flash' to query installed Flash packages, or check /usr/lib/flash-plugin/ for the version file
    Affected if The installed version is 11.2.202.491 or lower
  3. Check Adobe AIR version on Windows
    Open Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) and look for Adobe AIR, or check C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\AIR\versions.json for the version number
    Affected if The version listed is 18.0.0.180 or lower
  4. Check Adobe AIR SDK installation
    Look for Adobe AIR SDK in common development directories such as C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\AIR SDK or C:\AIR_SDK, and check the SDKDescription.xml file for the version
    Affected if The SDK version is 18.0.0.180 or lower
  5. Check for Flash plugin in browsers
    In Chrome, navigate to chrome://plugins and look for Flash; in Firefox, go to Add-ons > Plugins to list all plugin versions
    Affected if A Flash plugin version of 18.0.0.209 or lower (or 11.2.202.491 or lower) is listed as installed

You are affected if any installed Adobe Flash Player version is 18.0.0.209 or lower (or 11.2.202.491 for Linux), or any Adobe AIR/SDK version is 18.0.0.180 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 18.0.0.209
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.232 (Windows/OS X) or 11.2.202.508 (Linux), and Adobe AIR to 18.0.0.199, or preferably remove Flash entirely given its end-of-life status.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.232+ (Win/OSX), 11.2.202.508+ (Linux); AIR 18.0.0.199+; AIR SDK 18.0.0.199+

  1. 1. Identify the installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to 'About Flash Player' in the right-click context menu or checking 'Add or Remove Programs'
  2. 2. Identify the installed Adobe AIR version from 'Add or Remove Programs' or the AIR App installed location
  3. 3. For Flash Player on Windows and OS X: Download and install Flash Player 18.0.0.232 or later from the official Adobe security bulletin (APSB15-19)
  4. 4. For Flash Player on Linux: Download and install Flash Player 11.2.202.508 or later from the official Adobe security bulletin (APSB15-19)
  5. 5. For Adobe AIR: Download and install AIR 18.0.0.199 or later from the official Adobe security bulletin (APSB15-19)
  6. 6. For Adobe AIR SDK / AIR SDK & Compiler: Update to version 18.0.0.199 or later from the official Adobe security bulletin (APSB15-19)
  7. 7. Verify the update was successful by checking the newly installed version numbers match or exceed the fixed versions listed
  8. 8. Restart any browsers or applications that use Flash Player or AIR to ensure the patched versions are loaded
Caveat Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based content as modern browsers have disabled or removed Flash support

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5131 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2015-5131 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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