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AirApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-8401

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-12-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 19.0.0.241 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 18.0.0.268 and 19.x and 20.x before 20.0.0.228 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.554 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 20.0.0.204, Adobe AIR SDK before 20.0.0.204, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 20.0.0.204 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-8048, CVE-2015-8049, CVE-2015-8050, CVE-2015-8055, CVE-2015-8056, CVE-2015-8057, CVE-2015-8058, CVE-2015-8059, CVE-2015-8061, CVE-2015-8062, CVE-2015-8063, CVE-2015-8064, CVE-2015-8065, CVE-2015-8066, CVE-2015-8067, CVE-2015-8068, CVE-2015-8069, CVE-2015-8070, CVE-2015-8071, CVE-2015-8402, CVE-2015-8403, CVE-2015-8404, CVE-2015-8405, CVE-2015-8406, CVE-2015-8410, CVE-2015-8411, CVE-2015-8412, CVE-2015-8413, CVE-2015-8414, CVE-2015-8420, CVE-2015-8421, CVE-2015-8422, CVE-2015-8423, CVE-2015-8424, CVE-2015-8425, CVE-2015-8426, CVE-2015-8427, CVE-2015-8428, CVE-2015-8429, CVE-2015-8430, CVE-2015-8431, CVE-2015-8432, CVE-2015-8433, CVE-2015-8434, CVE-2015-8435, CVE-2015-8436, CVE-2015-8437, CVE-2015-8441, CVE-2015-8442, CVE-2015-8447, CVE-2015-8448, CVE-2015-8449, CVE-2015-8450, CVE-2015-8452, and CVE-2015-8454.

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 flaw exists in memory management where freed memory is accessed after deallocation, enabling code execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.268/20.0.0.228 or later, or Adobe AIR to 20.0.0.204 or later. Given Flash is deprecated, consider removing/disabling Flash Player entirely as the long-term solution.

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:<= 19.0.0.241
Flash PlayerApplication
Affected:<= 11.2.202.548<= 18.0.0.261= 19.0.0.185= 19.0.0.207= 19.0.0.226= 19.0.0.245
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.241
Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.241

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 Flash Player version in Chrome
    Navigate to chrome://components/ and locate 'Adobe Flash Player' entry, or visit a version check page like 'https://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/' in Chrome. Note the version displayed.
    Affected if Version displays as 11.2.202.548 or earlier, 18.0.0.261 or earlier, or exactly 19.0.0.185, 19.0.0.207, 19.0.0.226, or 19.0.0.245
  2. Check Flash Player version in Firefox or Internet Explorer
    For Firefox, enter 'about:plugins' in address bar and locate the Shockwave Flash entry. For IE, check C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\flash.ocx file properties, or use a version check website.
    Affected if Version displays as 11.2.202.548 or earlier, 18.0.0.261 or earlier, or exactly 19.0.0.185, 19.0.0.207, 19.0.0.226, or 19.0.0.245
  3. Check Adobe AIR runtime version
    On Windows, open Programs and Features or check C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\AIR\versions.txt. On Mac, check /Applications/Adobe AIR Installer.app contents or run 'Adobe AIR Application Installer' version info.
    Affected if Version listed is 19.0.0.241 or any earlier version
  4. Check Adobe AIR SDK version
    If Adobe AIR SDK is installed for development, check the version file in the SDK directory, typically named 'VERSION' or 'readme.txt' at the SDK root level.
    Affected if SDK version is 19.0.0.241 or any earlier version

If any installed Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR runtime, or Adobe AIR SDK matches the affected version ranges listed, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2015-8401.

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 19.0.0.241
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.268/20.0.0.228 or later, or Adobe AIR to 20.0.0.204 or later. Given Flash is deprecated, consider removing/disabling Flash Player entirely as the long-term solution.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Flash Player 18.0.0.268 (or 20.0.0.228 for 19.x/20.x), 11.2.202.554 for Linux; Adobe AIR 20.0.0.204; Adobe AIR SDK 20.0.0.204

  1. Identify the currently installed version of Adobe Flash Player or Adobe AIR on the system
  2. Access the Adobe Security Bulletin APSB15-32 at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-32.html to obtain the appropriate fixed version
  3. Download the fixed version matching your platform and current product line: Flash Player 18.0.0.268 for 18.x, Flash Player 20.0.0.228 for 19.x/20.x on Windows/OS X, Flash Player 11.2.202.554 for Linux, or Adobe AIR 20.0.0.204
  4. Close all web browsers and applications that may be using Flash Player or AIR
  5. Install the downloaded updated version
  6. Restart any affected applications and verify the installed version matches the fixed release
Caveat Adobe Flash Player is deprecated and no longer supported as of end-of-life; 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
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2015-8401 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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