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AirApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5546

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
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 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-5544, CVE-2015-5545, CVE-2015-5547, CVE-2015-5548, CVE-2015-5549, CVE-2015-5552, and CVE-2015-5553.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allowing arbitrary code execution or denial of service. The vulnerability stems from unspecified vectors causing memory corruption, which an attacker can exploit to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. Affects Flash Player versions before 18.0.0.232 (Windows/OS X) and 11.2.202.508 (Linux), and AIR versions before 18.0.0.199.

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 to version 18.0.0.199 or later. For enterprise environments, deploy patches via patch management systems and verify successful installation across all affected endpoints.

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:<= 18.0.0.180
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.180
Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.180
Flash PlayerApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.209<= 11.2.202.491

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 in browsers
    In Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Manage Add-ons > Shockwave Flash Object. In Chrome, type chrome://plugins in the address bar and find Flash. In Firefox, go to Add-ons > Plugins. Note the version number displayed for each.
    Affected if The reported version is 18.0.0.209 or earlier on Windows/OS X, or 11.2.202.491 or earlier on Linux.
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version via file properties
    Locate the Flash Player DLL file (e.g., C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\Flash*.ocx on Windows, or /usr/lib/flash-plugin/libflashplayer.so on Linux). Right-click the file and select Properties > Details to view the File Version.
    Affected if The file version shown is 18.0.0.209 or earlier on Windows/OS X, or 11.2.202.491 or earlier on Linux.
  3. Check Adobe AIR installation and version
    On Windows, open Programs and Features (or Add or Remove Programs) and look for Adobe AIR in the list. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe AIR Installer.app. Note the version shown.
    Affected if Adobe AIR version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier.
  4. Check Adobe AIR SDK version
    If AIR SDK is installed locally, navigate to the SDK directory (commonly at C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\AIR SDK or within a development environment). Locate the version file or check the AIR SDK version string in the SDK descriptor file.
    Affected if The AIR SDK or AIR SDK Compiler version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier.

If any installed Adobe Flash Player version is 18.0.0.209 or earlier (Windows/OS X) / 11.2.202.491 or earlier (Linux), or any Adobe AIR/SDK version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier, the environment is affected by CVE-2015-5546.

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 or later (Windows/OS X) / 11.2.202.508 or later (Linux), and Adobe AIR to version 18.0.0.199 or later. For enterprise environments, deploy patches via patch management systems and verify successful installation across all affected endpoints.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Flash Player 18.0.0.232+ (Windows/OS X) or 11.2.202.508+ (Linux); Adobe AIR 18.0.0.199+; Adobe AIR SDK 18.0.0.199+

  1. 1. Identify all systems running Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, Adobe AIR SDK, or Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler
  2. 2. For Windows and OS X systems: Upgrade Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.232 or later
  3. 3. For Linux systems: Upgrade Adobe Flash Player to version 11.2.202.508 or later
  4. 4. For Adobe AIR: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.199 or later
  5. 5. For Adobe AIR SDK: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.199 or later
  6. 6. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.199 or later
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed versions after upgrade
Caveat Upgrading Adobe Flash Player and AIR may affect compatibility with legacy content; test critical applications after upgrade

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

Fix this in Air Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2015-5546 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