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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5558

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 by leveraging an unspecified "type confusion," a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-5554, CVE-2015-5555, and CVE-2015-5562.

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

A type confusion vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. The vulnerability affects versions prior to 18.0.0.232 on Windows/OS X, 11.2.202.508 on Linux, and AIR versions before 18.0.0.199.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player and AIR to the specified patched versions (18.0.0.232 or later for Flash Player, 18.0.0.199 or later for AIR). Given Flash Player's end-of-life status, consider migrating away from Flash-based content entirely.

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. Check Adobe Flash Player version on Windows
    Open Internet Explorer, right-click on any Flash content (or visit a site with Flash), select 'Run ActiveX Control', then click 'About Adobe Flash Player' in the context menu. Alternatively, check the file version of the ActiveX control at C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\Flash*.ocx
    Affected if Version is 11.2.202.491 or earlier, or 18.0.0.209 or earlier on Windows/OS X
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version on macOS
    Open Safari or another browser, right-click on Flash content and select 'About Adobe Flash Player', or check the plugin version in the browser's plugin list. The version is typically stored in /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Flash Player/
    Affected if Version is 18.0.0.209 or earlier (or 11.2.202.491 or earlier for older 11.x releases)
  3. Check Adobe Flash Player version on Linux
    Run 'rpm -q flash-plugin' or 'dpkg -l libflashplugin-installer' to check the installed package version. Also check the file version of /usr/lib/flash-plugin/libflashplayer.so
    Affected if Version is 11.2.202.491 or earlier
  4. Check Adobe AIR version on Windows or macOS
    On Windows, open Add or Remove Programs and look for 'Adobe AIR' or check the version in the installation folder (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\AIR). On macOS, check /Applications/Adobe AIR Installer.app or run 'defaults read /Applications/Adobe\ AIR\ Installer.app/Contents/Info CFBundleVersion'
    Affected if Version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier
  5. Check Adobe AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler version
    Look for the AIR SDK in your development environment. Check the version file or run 'airSDKVersion' if using the SDK. Common locations include Adobe Animate or Adobe Dreamweaver installation directories, or a separately installed AIR SDK
    Affected if Version string shows 18.0.0.180 or earlier

You are affected if any installed Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK version matches or falls below the affected ranges listed for your platform.

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 (18.0.0.232 or later for Flash Player, 18.0.0.199 or later for AIR). Given Flash Player's end-of-life status, consider migrating away from Flash-based content entirely.

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

  1. Identify which Adobe product is installed (Flash Player, AIR, AIR SDK, or AIR SDK & Compiler)
  2. Determine the current version installed on the system
  3. For Flash Player on Windows or OS X: Download and install version 18.0.0.232 or later from adobe.com
  4. For Flash Player on Linux: Download and install version 11.2.202.508 or later from adobe.com
  5. For AIR, AIR SDK, or AIR SDK & Compiler: Download and install version 18.0.0.199 or later from adobe.com
  6. Restart the browser or application after upgrading Flash Player
  7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release
Caveat None specific to this upgrade; ensure browser restart after Flash Player update

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
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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-2015-5558 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