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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5569

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-10-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 19.0.0.190 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 18.0.0.252 and 19.x before 19.0.0.207 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.535 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 19.0.0.213, Adobe AIR SDK before 19.0.0.213, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 19.0.0.213 improperly implement the Flash broker API, which has unspecified impact and attack vectors.

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

Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR contain an improper implementation of the Flash broker API (a Windows COM-based inter-process communication mechanism that mediates between Flash content and the browser sandbox). This flaw allows unspecified attack vectors leading to complete system compromise, as evidenced by its use in zero-day exploits.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.252 or later (19.x to 19.0.0.207 or later) and Adobe AIR to 19.0.0.213 or later; given Flash's end-of-life status, removal of Flash Player entirely is the preferred long-term remediation.

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:<= 11.2.202.521<= 19.0.0.185
AirApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.190
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.190
Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.190

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 Internet Explorer
    Open Internet Explorer, navigate to the Adobe Flash Player version check page (get.adobe.com/flashplayer) or check via Manage Add-ons in the Tools menu to locate the Shockwave Flash Object version
    Affected if The displayed version is 11.2.202.521 or earlier, or 19.0.0.185 or earlier (versions 12.x through 18.x are also affected if below 18.0.0.252, as are 19.x versions below 19.0.0.207)
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version in Google Chrome
    Type chrome://components in the Chrome address bar and locate the Flash Player entry, or type chrome://plugins to view all plugins and their versions
    Affected if The displayed Flash Player version matches the affected ranges above
  3. Check Adobe Flash Player version in Mozilla Firefox
    Type about:addons in the Firefox address bar, click on Plugins, and locate the Shockwave Flash entry to view its version
    Affected if The displayed version falls within the affected ranges (11.2.202.521 or earlier, or 19.0.0.185 or earlier)
  4. Check Adobe AIR version on Windows
    Open Windows Control Panel and look for Adobe AIR in the Programs and Features list, or locate the Adobe AIR application and check its version through Properties, or run 'msiexec /x {AppID}' to view installed version details
    Affected if Adobe AIR version 19.0.0.190 or earlier is installed
  5. Verify Flash plugin is enabled in browsers
    In each browser (IE, Chrome, Firefox), access the plugins/add-ons management area and confirm the Shockwave Flash plugin is set to 'Enabled' or 'Always Activate'
    Affected if The Flash plugin is enabled and the installed version is within the affected ranges

You are affected if Adobe Flash Player version 11.2.202.521 or earlier, or 19.0.0.185 or earlier is installed and enabled, or if Adobe AIR version 19.0.0.190 or earlier is installed on your Windows system.

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 19.0.0.190
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.252 or later (19.x to 19.0.0.207 or later) and Adobe AIR to 19.0.0.213 or later; given Flash's end-of-life status, removal of Flash Player entirely is the preferred long-term remediation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.252 / 19.0.0.207 / 11.2.202.535; Adobe AIR 19.0.0.213; Adobe AIR SDK 19.0.0.213; Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler 19.0.0.213

  1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK version
  2. Navigate to the Adobe security bulletin at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-25.html
  3. Download the appropriate security update for your platform and product: Flash Player 18.0.0.252+ (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.535+ (Linux), or 19.0.0.207+ (19.x branch)
  4. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to apply the update
  5. Restart any browsers or applications that use Flash Player or AIR
Caveat Flash Player is deprecated and no longer supported on modern browsers; 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
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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-2015-5569 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