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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-7636

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-10-18
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
Use-after-free vulnerability in 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 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-7629, CVE-2015-7631, CVE-2015-7635, CVE-2015-7637, CVE-2015-7638, CVE-2015-7639, CVE-2015-7640, CVE-2015-7641, CVE-2015-7642, CVE-2015-7643, and CVE-2015-7644.

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 Adobe AIR allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. The UAF occurs in memory management when objects are accessed after being freed, potentially enabling code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.252/19.0.0.207 or later (11.2.202.535 on Linux) and Adobe AIR to 19.0.0.213 or later. Remove or disable Flash if unnecessary given its end-of-life status.

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 Windows browsers
    Open each installed browser and navigate to: for IE, go to Manage Add-ons > Shockwave Flash Object; for Chrome, type chrome://plugins in the address bar and locate Flash; for Firefox, type about:addons and locate Shockwave Flash. Note the version number shown.
    Affected if The displayed Flash Player version is 11.2.202.521 or earlier, OR between 12.0.0.0 and 19.0.0.185 inclusive (for 19.x branch). Versions 18.0.0.252 or later, 19.0.0.207 or later, or 11.2.202.535 (Linux) are patched.
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version via Windows registry
    Open Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\Version0 (for 32-bit) or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\Version0 (for 64-bit). Read the Version value.
    Affected if The version string is less than or equal to 11.2.202.521, OR less than 19.0.0.207 for the 19.x branch.
  3. Check Adobe AIR version on Windows
    Open Command Prompt and run: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe AIR\Versions\1.0\Adobe AIR Application Installer.exe -version (or navigate to the Adobe AIRVersions folder and check the folder name or file properties).
    Affected if The displayed AIR version is 19.0.0.190 or earlier.
  4. Check Adobe AIR SDK version
    If Adobe AIR SDK is installed, locate the AIR SDK folder (commonly in C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\ or a user-specified path). Open the readme or version file, or check the file properties of AIRSDK.dll or similar libraries.
    Affected if The AIR SDK version is 19.0.0.190 or earlier.
  5. Verify Flash Player is actually enabled in browsers
    In each browser, ensure Flash plugin is enabled: Chrome - chrome://settings/content, find Flash; IE - Manage Add-ons, enable/disable Shockwave Flash; Firefox - about:addons, enable/disable. Also check if the Flash NPAPI/PPAPI DLL files exist in browser plugin directories.
    Affected if Flash Player versions in the affected ranges listed above are installed AND the Flash plugin is enabled in any browser, making exploitation possible.

The environment is affected if any installed Adobe Flash Player version falls within 11.2.202.521 or earlier, or 12.x-19.0.0.185, or any Adobe AIR version is 19.0.0.190 or earlier, AND the vulnerable component is enabled in the browser or 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

Upgrade Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.252/19.0.0.207 or later (11.2.202.535 on Linux) and Adobe AIR to 19.0.0.213 or later. Remove or disable Flash if unnecessary given its end-of-life status.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.252 or 19.0.0.207 (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.535 (Linux); Adobe AIR 19.0.0.213, Adobe AIR SDK 19.0.0.213

  1. Identify currently installed Adobe Flash Player version by visiting about:flash or checking Add/Remove Programs
  2. Identify currently installed Adobe AIR and AIR SDK versions via system utilities or development environment
  3. Navigate to Adobe Security Bulletin APSB15-25 at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-25.html
  4. Download the appropriate fixed version: Flash Player 18.0.0.252 or 19.0.0.207 (or later) for Windows/OS X, Flash Player 11.2.202.535 (or later) for Linux, Adobe AIR 19.0.0.213 (or later), Adobe AIR SDK 19.0.0.213 (or later)
  5. Install the downloaded update
  6. Restart all browsers and applications that use Flash Player or AIR
  7. Verify the installed version matches the patched release
Caveat Flash Player end-of-life occurred in December 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based content as modern browsers have removed Flash support

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,270
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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-2015-7636 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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