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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5541

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
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
Heap-based 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-2015-5129.

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

Heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allowing arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability exists in multiple versions across Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms. This is a separate issue from CVE-2015-5129.

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

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. Identify installed Adobe Flash Player version
    Windows: Check registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\FlashPlayer\InstallVersion or examine the file version of npapiflash.dll in the browser plugins folder. Mac OS X: Check /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Flash Player.plugin or browser-specific plugin location. Linux: Run 'rpm -q flash-plugin' or check /usr/lib/flash-plugin/
    Affected if Version is 11.2.202.491 or earlier on Linux, or 18.0.0.209 or earlier on Windows/OS X
  2. Identify installed Adobe AIR version
    Windows: Check Control Panel > Programs and Features for Adobe AIR, or examine the AIR runtime files in C:\Program Files\Adobe\AIR. Mac OS X: Check /Applications/Adobe AIR folder or run 'ls /Applications | grep -i air'
    Affected if Version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier
  3. Identify installed Adobe AIR SDK version
    Check the AIR SDK installation directory for version file or manifest. Common locations: Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\AIR SDK or within SDK folder readme/version files. Mac OS X: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR SDK
    Affected if Version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier
  4. Determine if vulnerable component is actively used
    Flash Player: Verify if the browser has Flash plugin enabled and used. AIR: Check if any AIR applications are installed and the AIR runtime is present. On browsers, navigate to about:plugins (Firefox) or chrome://plugins (Chrome) to list active Flash installations
    Affected if The affected Flash Player or AIR version is installed AND the software is actively in use by browsers or applications

A user is affected if Adobe Flash Player version is 18.0.0.209 or earlier (Windows/OS X) or 11.2.202.491 or earlier (Linux), or Adobe AIR/AIR SDK version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier, and the component is installed and in use.

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 version 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 18.0.0.199+

  1. 1. Identify which Adobe product is installed (Flash Player, AIR, AIR SDK, or AIR SDK & Compiler) and the current version
  2. 2. For Flash Player on Windows/OS X: upgrade to version 18.0.0.232 or later
  3. 3. For Flash Player on Linux: upgrade to version 11.2.202.508 or later
  4. 4. For Adobe AIR, AIR SDK, or AIR SDK & Compiler: upgrade to version 18.0.0.199 or later
  5. 5. Download the appropriate fixed version from Adobe's official security bulletin at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-19.html
  6. 6. Uninstall the existing vulnerable version
  7. 7. Install the new patched version
Caveat Flash Player and AIR are end-of-life and no longer receive security updates; consider migrating away from Flash-based content

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

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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-2015-5541 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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