AirApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-5581

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

NVD · unedited

Use-after-free vulnerability in 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 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-5570, CVE-2015-5574, CVE-2015-5584, and CVE-2015-6682.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed, enabling potential code execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.241 (or 19.0.0.185 for branch 19.x) on Windows/OS X, 11.2.202.521 on Linux, or Adobe AIR/SDK to 19.0.0.190. Organizations should plan migration away from Flash as it is end-of-life.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

AirApplication

Affected:<= 18.0.0.143<= 18.0.0.199

AndroidOperating system

Affected:all versions

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

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?

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

Check Adobe Flash Player version in Windows

Open Internet Explorer or Edge, navigate to the Adobe Flash Player version check page at https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html, or open PowerShell and run: (New-Object -ComObject ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash).GetVariable("$_version")

Affected if The installed version is 11.2.202.508 or lower, 13.0.0.289 or lower, or any of these exact versions: 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, or 15.0.0.246
Check Adobe Flash Player version on macOS

Open Safari, navigate to the Adobe Flash Player version check page, or check the version via System Preferences > Flash Player > Advanced tab

Affected if The installed version matches the affected versions listed in step 1
Check Adobe AIR version on Windows or macOS

Open Control Panel (Windows) or System Preferences (macOS) and look for Adobe AIR, or run: C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe AIR\Version.txt (Windows) or /Library/Application Support/Adobe AIR/version.txt (macOS)

Affected if The installed version is 18.0.0.143 or lower, or 18.0.0.199 or lower (both are affected)
Check Adobe AIR SDK version

If you have Adobe AIR SDK installed, locate the version.txt file in the SDK directory, typically found at <AIR_SDK_HOME>/readme/version.txt or check the SDK version through your build tools

Affected if The SDK version is 18.0.0.199 or lower (AIR SDK), or 18.0.0.180 or lower (AIR SDK and Compiler)
Check if running on Google Android

Identify the operating system of the device: Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version on Android devices

Affected if The device is running any version of Android and has Adobe AIR or Flash Player installed

A user is affected if Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK is installed with any version listed as vulnerable, or if running Adobe Flash or AIR on any version of Android.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

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 19.0.0.185 for branch 19.x) on Windows/OS X, 11.2.202.521 on Linux, or Adobe AIR/SDK to 19.0.0.190. Organizations should plan migration away from Flash as it is end-of-life.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player: 18.0.0.241/19.0.0.185 (Win/OSX), 11.2.202.521 (Linux); AIR/AIR SDK/AIR SDK & Compiler: 19.0.0.190

Identify the specific Adobe product affected (Flash Player, AIR, AIR SDK, or AIR SDK & Compiler)
Determine the current installed version of the affected product
For Flash Player on Windows/OS X: upgrade to version 18.0.0.241 or 19.0.0.185 or later
For Flash Player on Linux: upgrade to version 11.2.202.521 or later
For Adobe AIR: upgrade to version 19.0.0.190 or later
For Adobe AIR SDK: upgrade to version 19.0.0.190 or later
For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: upgrade to version 19.0.0.190 or later
For Android: upgrade to the latest available version from Google Play or the device manufacturer

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 Air Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation3.0 h
Implementation4.0 h
Testing2.0 h
Review / QA1.0 h

10.0 hours of engineering $1,800

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Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-5581 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2015-5581?

The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.

The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
A config change or rule that shut the vector down
A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 18.0.0.199 or later

Severity 10.0 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 4.8%

Affects: Air

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Air 10 hrs · Low

Typical engagement from $1,800

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2015-5581 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References