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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-8414

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-2015-8402, 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-2015-8420, 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

A use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player (versions before 18.0.0.268 on Windows/OS X, before 11.2.202.554 on Linux, and 19.x/20.x before 20.0.0.228) and Adobe AIR (before 20.0.0.204) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. This memory corruption flaw occurs when the application attempts to access memory that has already been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to overwrite function pointers or control flow.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.268/20.0.0.228 (Windows/OS X) or 11.2.202.554 (Linux), and Adobe AIR to 20.0.0.204 or later. Consider removing Flash Player entirely if no longer required, as Adobe End-of-Life was approaching.

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:<= 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
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 or macOS
    Open a web browser with Flash installed, right-click on any Flash content, and select 'About Adobe Flash Player' to display the version number. Alternatively, check the file properties of the Flash Player plugin file (flash.ocx or NPSWF32.dll) in the browser plugins directory.
    Affected if 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
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version on Linux
    For Linux systems, check the installed package version using the package manager (dpkg -l for Debian/Ubuntu or rpm -q for RHEL/CentOS) for the 'flash-player-plugin' package.
    Affected if Version is 11.2.202.548 or earlier
  3. Check Adobe AIR version on Windows or macOS
    Open the Windows Control Panel or macOS Applications folder and locate 'Adobe AIR' or 'Adobe AIR Application Installer'. Right-click and select Properties to view the version, or run 'Adobe AIR Application Installer -version' from the command line if available.
    Affected if Version is 19.0.0.241 or earlier
  4. Check Adobe AIR SDK version
    If Adobe AIR SDK is installed for development purposes, locate the SDK installation directory and check the version information in the SDK's readme or version file, typically found in the root SDK folder.
    Affected if Version is 19.0.0.241 or earlier (for both AIR SDK and AIR SDK & Compiler)
  5. Identify if Flash Player or AIR is in use
    Review installed browsers and applications for the presence of Flash Player browser plugins or standalone AIR applications. On Windows, check registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer or HKCU\Software\Adobe\FlashPlayer for plugin paths and versions.
    Affected if Any Flash Player or AIR installation with a version matching the affected ranges listed above

A user is affected if Adobe Flash Player (version 18.0.0.261 or earlier on Windows/OS X, 11.2.202.548 or earlier on Linux, or any of the specific 19.x versions 185/207/226/245) or Adobe AIR (version 19.0.0.241 or earlier) is installed and in use.

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 (Windows/OS X) or 11.2.202.554 (Linux), and Adobe AIR to 20.0.0.204 or later. Consider removing Flash Player entirely if no longer required, as Adobe End-of-Life was approaching.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.268+ (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.554+ (Linux), or 20.0.0.228+ (19.x/20.x branches); Adobe AIR 20.0.0.204+; Adobe AIR SDK 20.0.0.204+; Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler 20.0.0.204+

  1. 1. Identify the installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html and checking the version displayed, or opening Flash Player in browser and checking About dialog
  2. 2. Identify the installed Adobe AIR version by opening AIR from system tray or checking Add/Remove Programs
  3. 3. For Flash Player on Windows or OS X: Download and install version 18.0.0.268 or later (or version 20.0.0.228 or later for 19.x/20.x branches) from https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
  4. 4. For Flash Player on Linux: Download and install version 11.2.202.554 or later from the Adobe website or Linux distribution package manager
  5. 5. For Adobe AIR: Download and install version 20.0.0.204 or later from https://get.adobe.com/air/
  6. 6. For Adobe AIR SDK: Download and install version 20.0.0.204 or later from https://airsdk.harman.com/
  7. 7. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: Download and install version 20.0.0.204 or later
  8. 8. Restart all web browsers after upgrading Flash Player to ensure the new version is loaded
Caveat Adobe Flash Player is deprecated and no longer supported as of December 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based content

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
  • 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-2015-8414 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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