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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5553

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-2015-5548, CVE-2015-5549, and CVE-2015-5552.

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

Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR contain a memory corruption vulnerability that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service. The vulnerability affects specific versions prior to the patched releases (18.0.0.232 for Flash Player on Windows/OS X, 11.2.202.508 on Linux, and 18.0.0.199 for AIR/SDK).

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 18.0.0.199 or later. Alternatively, consider removing or disabling Flash Player if unnecessary 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 Flash Player version on Windows
    Open a command prompt and run: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer' /v Version. Alternatively, visit Adobe's version check page at about:flash in a browser.
    Affected if Version returned is empty or <= 18.0.0.209
  2. Check Flash Player version on macOS
    Open Terminal and run: defaults read /Library/Application\ Support/Adobe/Flash\ Player/installedversions.xml NPAPI. Or check via the Flash Player About dialog in Safari or Firefox.
    Affected if Version returned is empty or <= 18.0.0.209
  3. Check Flash Player version on Linux
    Open Terminal and check the version file: rpm -q flash-player or dpkg -l flashplugin-installer. Also check /usr/lib/flash-plugin/ for the version string.
    Affected if Version returned is empty or <= 11.2.202.491
  4. Check Adobe AIR version on Windows or macOS
    Open Control Panel (Windows) or System Preferences (macOS) and look for Adobe AIR in the installed programs list. On Windows, also check: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\AIR' /v Version
    Affected if Version returned is empty or <= 18.0.0.180
  5. Check Adobe AIR SDK version
    If you have the AIR SDK installed, open the AIR SDK readme.txt or version.xml file in the SDK installation directory. The version is typically listed in the release notes or a version file.
    Affected if Version returned is empty or <= 18.0.0.180

If any installed Adobe Flash Player or Adobe AIR/SDK version falls within the affected ranges (Flash Player <= 18.0.0.209 on Windows/OS X, <= 11.2.202.491 on Linux, or AIR/SDK <= 18.0.0.180), the environment is vulnerable.

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 18.0.0.199 or later. Alternatively, consider removing or disabling Flash Player if unnecessary given its end-of-life status.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. 1. Identify which Adobe product(s) are installed: Flash Player, Adobe AIR, Adobe AIR SDK, or Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler.
  2. 2. Check the current version of the installed Adobe software from the Help > About menu or system control panel.
  3. 3. For Flash Player on Windows or OS X: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.232 or later.
  4. 4. For Flash Player on Linux: Upgrade to version 11.2.202.508 or later.
  5. 5. For Adobe AIR: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.199 or later.
  6. 6. For Adobe AIR SDK: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.199 or later.
  7. 7. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.199 or later.
  8. 8. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Adobe Security Bulletin APSB15-19: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-19.html
Caveat Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based content as no further updates will be available

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,270
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2015-5553 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