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AirApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5579

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-09-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 18.0.0.199 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 18.0.0.241 and 19.x before 19.0.0.185 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.521 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 19.0.0.190, Adobe AIR SDK before 19.0.0.190, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 19.0.0.190 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (stack memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-5567.

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 AIR contain a memory corruption vulnerability allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via unspecified vectors. The flaw affects multiple versions across Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms, resulting in stack memory corruption that can be exploited to gain code execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.241 or later (19.x to 19.0.0.185 or later), and Adobe AIR to 19.0.0.190 or later. For Linux, update to 11.2.202.521 or later.

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
AirApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.143<= 18.0.0.199
Flash PlayerApplication
Affected:<= 11.2.202.508<= 13.0.0.289= 14.0.0.125= 14.0.0.145= 14.0.0.176= 14.0.0.179= 15.0.0.152= 15.0.0.167= 15.0.0.189= 15.0.0.223= 15.0.0.239= 15.0.0.246
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.199
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 Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\FlashPlayer\CurrentVersion, or run 'Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:SOFTWARE\Adobe\FlashPlayer"' in PowerShell
    Affected if The Version value is <= 11.2.202.508, <= 13.0.0.289, or matches any of these: 14.0.0.125, 14.0.0.145, 14.0.0.176, 14.0.0.179, 15.0.0.152, 15.0.0.167, 15.0.0.189, 15.0.0.223, 15.0.0.239, 15.0.0.246
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version on Linux
    Run 'rpm -q flash-plugin' or check /usr/lib/flash-plugin directory for version file, or look in the browser's plugins about page
    Affected if The version is <= 11.2.202.508
  3. Check Adobe Flash Player version on macOS
    Check /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Flash Player/ for version file, or inspect the Flash Player.plugin bundle info
    Affected if The version matches the Windows affected versions listed above
  4. Check Adobe AIR version on Windows
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\AIR\Version, or check the installed program version in Programs and Features
    Affected if The version is <= 18.0.0.143 or <= 18.0.0.199 (any version up to and including these)
  5. Check Adobe AIR version on macOS
    Check /Applications/Adobe AIR Application Installer.app/Contents/Info.plist for CFBundleVersion, or check the AIR app itself
    Affected if The version is <= 18.0.0.143 or <= 18.0.0.199
  6. Check Adobe AIR SDK and AIR SDK Compiler versions
    Locate the AIR SDK directory (often in the Adobe Flash Builder installation or standalone SDK folder) and check the version file or release notes within the SDK folder
    Affected if The SDK version is <= 18.0.0.199, or the SDK Compiler version is <= 18.0.0.180

You are affected if any installed Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, Adobe AIR SDK, or Adobe AIR SDK Compiler version matches the affected ranges listed above.

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 18.0.0.199
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.241 or later (19.x to 19.0.0.185 or later), and Adobe AIR to 19.0.0.190 or later. For Linux, update to 11.2.202.521 or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.241/19.0.0.185 or later (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.521 or later (Linux); AIR 19.0.0.190 or later; AIR SDK 19.0.0.190 or later

  1. 1. Identify the exact Adobe Flash Player or AIR version currently installed (check Help > About in the application or system settings).
  2. 2. For Flash Player on Windows/OS X: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.241 or 19.0.0.185 or later.
  3. 3. For Flash Player on Linux: Upgrade to version 11.2.202.521 or later.
  4. 4. For Adobe AIR: Upgrade to version 19.0.0.190 or later.
  5. 5. For Adobe AIR SDK: Upgrade to version 19.0.0.190 or later.
  6. 6. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: Upgrade to version 19.0.0.190 or later.
  7. 7. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Adobe security bulletin at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-23.html
  8. 8. Install the update and restart any affected applications.
Caveat Adobe Flash Player 19.x series had breaking changes; ensure web content compatibility before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Air 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
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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-2015-5579 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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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