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Air SdkApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-8409

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
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 allow attackers to bypass intended access restrictions via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-8440 and CVE-2015-8453.

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 · moderate confidence

Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR contain an access restriction bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to bypass intended security controls. The vulnerability affects specific versions across Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms, as well as the AIR SDK and Compiler.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.268 or later (19.x/20.x to 20.0.0.228 or later, Linux to 11.2.202.554 or later), and update Adobe AIR and AIR SDK to version 20.0.0.204 or later. Note: Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020 and should be removed from systems where possible.

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
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.241
Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.241
Flash PlayerApplication
Affected:<= 18.0.0.261= 19.0.0.185= 19.0.0.207= 19.0.0.226= 19.0.0.245<= 11.2.202.548
AirApplication
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 the Adobe Flash Player version page in a browser (go to https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html) or right-click on the Flash Player plugin in browser settings. Alternatively, check the file properties of flash.ocx or NPSWF32.dll in the browser plugins folder.
    Affected if The installed version is 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, or 11.2.202.548 or earlier on Linux.
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version on macOS
    Open Safari or other browser, navigate to the Adobe Flash Player version page, or check the file version of /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Flash Player.plugin
    Affected if The installed version matches the affected ranges listed above.
  3. Check Adobe Flash Player version on Linux
    Open a browser and navigate to the Adobe Flash Player version page, or run 'rpm -q flash-plugin' or 'dpkg -l flashplugin-installer' depending on package manager.
    Affected if The installed version is 11.2.202.548 or earlier.
  4. Check Adobe AIR version on Windows
    Open Windows Control Panel, go to Programs and Features, and look for Adobe AIR in the installed programs list. Alternatively, check the file version of Adobe AIR.exe in the installation directory.
    Affected if The installed version is 19.0.0.241 or earlier.
  5. Check Adobe AIR version on macOS
    Open Finder, navigate to /Applications, and check the version info of Adobe AIR.app, or look in the installed applications list.
    Affected if The installed version is 19.0.0.241 or earlier.
  6. Check Adobe AIR SDK or AIR SDK & Compiler version
    Look for the AIR SDK installation directory. Check the version file or manifest within the SDK folder, or run 'air -version' if the SDK compiler is in the PATH.
    Affected if The SDK version is 19.0.0.241 or earlier.

If any installed Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK version falls within the affected ranges (19.0.0.241 or earlier for AIR/SDK, 18.0.0.261 or earlier or specific 19.x versions for Flash Player, 11.2.202.548 or earlier for Linux), the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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 or later (19.x/20.x to 20.0.0.228 or later, Linux to 11.2.202.554 or later), and update Adobe AIR and AIR SDK to version 20.0.0.204 or later. Note: Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020 and should be removed from systems where possible.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Identify the specific Adobe product affected (Flash Player, AIR, or AIR SDK) by checking the installed version
  2. For Flash Player 18.x users: Upgrade to version 18.0.0.268 or later
  3. For Flash Player 19.x and 20.x users: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.228 or later
  4. For Adobe AIR users: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.204 or later
  5. For Adobe AIR SDK users: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.204 or later
  6. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler users: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.204 or later
  7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release after upgrade
Caveat Upgrading Flash Player or AIR may affect compatibility with older content; ensure critical applications are tested before deploying in production

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

Fix this in Air Sdk Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2015-8409 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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