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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5548

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-2015-5546, CVE-2015-5547, 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 · moderate confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allowing arbitrary code execution or denial of service. The vulnerability exists in unspecified vectors and affects versions prior to 18.0.0.232 (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.508 (Linux), and AIR versions before 18.0.0.199.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player and AIR to the specified patched versions, or remove Flash Player 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

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 Windows or macOS browsers
    Open a web browser and navigate to 'about:plugins' in Chrome/Firefox, or visit the Adobe version check page at https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html. Locate the Flash Player version entry in the list of installed plugins.
    Affected if The displayed Flash Player version is 18.0.0.209 or earlier on Windows/macOS, or 11.2.202.491 or earlier on Linux.
  2. Verify Adobe Flash Player version on Linux
    Open a terminal and run the command 'rpm -q flash-plugin' for RPM-based distributions, or check the version via the system package manager. For Debian-based systems, use 'dpkg -l | grep flash' or inspect the Flash plugin file properties in the browser plugins directory.
    Affected if The installed Flash Player version is 11.2.202.491 or earlier.
  3. Check Adobe AIR runtime version on Windows or macOS
    On Windows, open Control Panel > Programs and Features and look for 'Adobe AIR' in the installed programs list. On macOS, check '/Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR' or use the Air Application Installer to view the runtime version. The version is also visible when running an AIR application in the application properties.
    Affected if The Adobe AIR runtime version shown is 18.0.0.180 or earlier.
  4. Check Adobe AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler version
    If Adobe AIR SDK is installed for development, locate the SDK directory and open the 'versions.xml' file or check the 'AIRSDK_README.txt' file. The version information is typically found in the root SDK folder or in the 'bin' directory.
    Affected if The AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier.

A user is affected if any installed Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR runtime, or Adobe AIR SDK version falls within or below the vulnerable version numbers listed (18.0.0.209 or 18.0.0.180 depending on component, or 11.2.202.491 for Linux Flash Player).

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 and AIR to the specified patched versions, or remove Flash Player entirely given its end-of-life status.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Identify the installed Adobe Flash Player, AIR, AIR SDK, or AIR SDK & Compiler version and platform
  2. Access Adobe Security Bulletin APSB15-19 at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-19.html
  3. Download the appropriate fixed version: Flash Player 18.0.0.232 (Windows/OS X), Flash Player 11.2.202.508 (Linux), AIR 18.0.0.199, AIR SDK 18.0.0.199, or AIR SDK & Compiler 18.0.0.199
  4. Uninstall the current Adobe Flash Player or AIR version
  5. Install the downloaded fixed version
  6. Restart the browser or application if required
Caveat Adobe Flash Player is deprecated and no longer supported after December 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based applications

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
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

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-2015-5548 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