Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5540

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

Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

Use-after-free vulnerability 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-2015-5127, CVE-2015-5130, CVE-2015-5134, CVE-2015-5539, CVE-2015-5550, CVE-2015-5551, CVE-2015-5556, CVE-2015-5557, CVE-2015-5559, CVE-2015-5561, CVE-2015-5563, CVE-2015-5564, and CVE-2015-5565.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. The vulnerability involves memory that is freed but still accessed, leading to potential code execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.232 or later (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.508 or later (Linux), and Adobe AIR/SDK to 18.0.0.199 or later.

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:<= 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

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 on Windows

Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\CurrentVersion, or right-click the Flash*.ocx file in System32 or SysWOW64 and select Properties > Details to view the File Version.

Affected if The displayed version is 18.0.0.209 or earlier, or 11.2.202.491 or earlier (for the 11.x branch)
Check Adobe Flash Player version on Linux

Run rpm -q flash-player or dpkg -l | grep flash, or examine the file version of /usr/lib/flash-plugin/libflashplayer.so using the file command or a version viewer tool.

Affected if The installed package version is 11.2.202.491 or earlier, or the shared object version is 18.0.0.209 or earlier
Check Adobe Flash Player version on macOS

Locate the Flash Player plugin at /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Flash Player.plugin, right-click and choose Show Package Contents, then check the Info.plist or the version file within the Contents folder.

Affected if The version listed is 18.0.0.209 or earlier
Check Adobe AIR version on Windows

Open Programs and Features (or Add/Remove Programs), locate Adobe AIR in the list, and note the version displayed; alternatively, check the version of the AIR application runtime file at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe AIR\Versions\1.0\Adobe AIR.dll or similar path.

Affected if The installed Adobe AIR version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier
Check Adobe AIR SDK version

If Adobe AIR SDK is installed, locate the AIR SDK directory and check the version file or the SDK descriptor file (AIR SDK/readme.txt or similar), or run 'air-sdk-version' if available in the SDK bin folder.

Affected if The AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier

If any installed Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK version falls at or below the affected version ranges (18.0.0.209 or earlier for 18.x, 11.2.202.491 or earlier for 11.x, 18.0.0.180 or earlier for AIR), the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2015-5540.

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

Remediation

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 or later (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.508 or later (Linux), and Adobe AIR/SDK to 18.0.0.199 or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.232 (Windows/OS X) / 11.2.202.508 (Linux); AIR/AIR SDK/AIR SDK & Compiler 18.0.0.199

Identify the currently installed Adobe Flash Player, AIR, AIR SDK, or AIR SDK & Compiler version
Determine the specific product and platform in use (Flash Player for Windows/OS X, Flash Player for Linux, AIR, AIR SDK, or AIR SDK & Compiler)
Navigate to the official Adobe security bulletin at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-19.html
Download the appropriate fixed version: Flash Player 18.0.0.232 for Windows/OS X, Flash Player 11.2.202.508 for Linux, or AIR/AIR SDK 18.0.0.199
Install the downloaded update following standard installation procedures
Restart any browsers or applications using Flash Player or AIR after installation
Verify the installed version matches the fixed release

Caveat Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020; migrating to HTML5-based alternatives is recommended rather than applying this legacy patch

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

Fix this in Flash Player Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation1.0 h
Implementation2.0 h
Testing2.0 h
Review / QA1.0 h

6.0 hours of engineering $1,040

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5540 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-5540 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2015-5540?

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

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 18.0.0.209 or later

Severity 10.0 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 45.5%

Affects: Flash Player

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Flash Player 6 hrs · Low

Typical engagement from $1,040

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2015-5540 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