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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-8402

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-2015-8401, 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 AIR allowing arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability exists in unspecified vectors within the Flash rendering engine, where memory is freed but still referenced, leading to potential code execution by attacker-controlled data.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.268 (Windows/OS X) or 11.2.202.554 (Linux), and Adobe AIR to 20.0.0.204 or later. Alternatively, disable or remove Flash Player 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:<= 11.2.202.548<= 18.0.0.261= 19.0.0.185= 19.0.0.207= 19.0.0.226= 19.0.0.245
AirApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.241
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 Adobe Flash Player version on Windows
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for 'Adobe Flash Player XX' entry, or check the file version of nppdf32.dll or Flash.ocx in the system32 or SysWOW64 directories. Alternatively, visit Adobe's version check page in a browser.
    Affected if The installed version matches <= 11.2.202.548, <= 18.0.0.261, 19.0.0.185, 19.0.0.207, 19.0.0.226, or 19.0.0.245
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version in browsers
    In Internet Explorer, go to Manage Add-ons > Shockwave Flash Object. In Chrome, type chrome://components in the address bar and locate the Flash component. In Firefox, type about:plugins and locate the Shockwave Flash entry.
    Affected if The displayed Flash version falls within any of the affected version ranges listed above.
  3. Check Adobe AIR version on Windows
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features and look for 'Adobe AIR' entry, or check the file version of the Adobe AIR runtime installation (typically in Program Files).
    Affected if The installed Adobe AIR version is <= 19.0.0.241
  4. Check Adobe AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler version
    If installed as part of a development environment, check the SDK version by examining the AIR SDK readme or version file, or check the AIR SDK folder name in the installation directory.
    Affected if The AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler version is <= 19.0.0.241
  5. Determine if Flash Player is actively enabled in browsers
    In Internet Explorer, verify the Shockwave Flash Object add-on is enabled. In Chrome and Firefox, ensure the Flash plugin is not disabled or set to 'click to play'. In Edge, check if Flash is allowed to run.
    Affected if Flash is enabled and the version is one of the vulnerable versions listed.

A system is affected if Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or the AIR SDK is installed with any version matching <= 11.2.202.548, <= 18.0.0.261, 19.0.0.185, 19.0.0.207, 19.0.0.226, 19.0.0.245, or <= 19.0.0.241 respectively, and Flash is enabled in the browser.

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 (Windows/OS X) or 11.2.202.554 (Linux), and Adobe AIR to 20.0.0.204 or later. Alternatively, disable or remove Flash Player given its end-of-life status.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.268+ / 20.0.0.228+ (or 11.2.202.554+ on Linux); Adobe AIR 20.0.0.204+; Adobe AIR SDK 20.0.0.204+; Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler 20.0.0.204+

  1. Identify the installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to 'About Flash Player' in the player context menu or visiting the version check page
  2. Identify the installed Adobe AIR SDK version by checking the SDK descriptor file or running 'adl -version'
  3. Download the fixed version from the official Adobe security bulletin APSB15-32: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-32.html
  4. For Flash Player: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.268 or later (19.x/20.x users should upgrade to 20.0.0.228 or later)
  5. For Linux Flash Player: Upgrade to version 11.2.202.554 or later
  6. For Adobe AIR: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.204 or later
  7. For Adobe AIR SDK: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.204 or later
  8. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.204 or later
Caveat Minor: Some legacy Flash content may require recompilation or testing with newer runtime versions; ensure compatibility testing is performed

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

Fix this in Flash Player Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2015-8402 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data