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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5564

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
Use-after-free vulnerability 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-2015-5127, CVE-2015-5130, CVE-2015-5134, CVE-2015-5539, CVE-2015-5540, CVE-2015-5550, CVE-2015-5551, CVE-2015-5556, CVE-2015-5557, CVE-2015-5559, CVE-2015-5561, CVE-2015-5563, and CVE-2015-5565.

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allowing arbitrary code execution. This is a memory corruption flaw where the program accesses memory after it has been freed, potentially enabling remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to Flash Player 18.0.0.232 or later (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.508 or later (Linux), or AIR 18.0.0.199 or later. Alternatively, remove/disable Flash Player if no longer needed.

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 in browsers
    Open browser and navigate to 'About Flash Player' or visit Adobe's version check page; alternatively, check the Flash Player DLL file version on the system
    Affected if Installed version is 11.2.202.491 or earlier, OR between 12.0.0.0 and 18.0.0.209 (inclusive)
  2. Check Adobe AIR installation and version
    Open the AIR application manager or check installed programs list in system control panel for Adobe AIR
    Affected if Installed version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier
  3. Check Adobe AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler version
    If you are a developer using AIR SDK, check the SDK version file or the compiler version information
    Affected if SDK version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier
  4. Verify if Flash Player browser plugin is enabled
    Open browser add-ons or extensions manager and check if the Flash Player plugin is active/enabled for web browsers
    Affected if Flash Player plugin is enabled and the version falls within the affected ranges from step 1

You are affected if any installed Adobe Flash Player version is 11.2.202.491 or earlier, or between 12.0.0.0 and 18.0.0.209, or any Adobe AIR/AIR SDK version is 18.0.0.180 or earlier, AND the vulnerable component is actively enabled or 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

Upgrade to Flash Player 18.0.0.232 or later (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.508 or later (Linux), or AIR 18.0.0.199 or later. Alternatively, remove/disable Flash Player if no longer needed.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Identify which Adobe Flash Player or AIR product and version is currently installed
  2. For Flash Player on Windows or OS X: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.232 or later
  3. For Flash Player on Linux: Upgrade to version 11.2.202.508 or later
  4. For Adobe AIR: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.199 or later
  5. For Adobe AIR SDK: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.199 or later
  6. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.199 or later
  7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed versions listed above
  8. Restart any applications or browsers using Flash Player or AIR after the update
Caveat Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020; 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
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

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-2015-5564 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