Air SdkApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-8423

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

Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

Official description

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-2015-8414, CVE-2015-8420, CVE-2015-8421, CVE-2015-8422, 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

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR allowing remote arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability exists in unspecified vectors within the Flash runtime before versions 18.0.0.268/20.0.0.228 (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.554 (Linux), and before 20.0.0.204 for AIR products.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.268 or 20.0.0.228 (or later), and Adobe AIR to version 20.0.0.204 or later. For systems where Flash cannot be updated, consider disabling the Flash plugin or using click-to-play controls.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Air SdkApplication

Affected:<= 19.0.0.241

Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication

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

AirApplication

Affected:<= 19.0.0.241

CVSS breakdown

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?

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

Identify installed Adobe Flash Player version

Open a browser and navigate to 'about:plugin' (Firefox) or 'chrome://plugins' (Chrome), or visit the Adobe version check page at https://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/. Alternatively, check the file properties of the Flash DLL (npapi32.dll or Flash32_XX_XX_XX_XX.ocx) in the browser plugins directory.

Affected if The displayed version matches any of the following: 11.2.202.548 or earlier, any 18.x version up to 18.0.0.261, or any of these specific 19.x versions: 19.0.0.185, 19.0.0.207, 19.0.0.226, or 19.0.0.245.
Identify installed Adobe AIR version

On Windows, open 'Programs and Features' (or 'Add or Remove Programs') and look for 'Adobe AIR' in the installed programs list to view the version. On macOS, check '/Applications/Adobe AIR Installer.app' or the AIR application itself for version info. The version is also visible in the AIR SDK if installed as part of development tools.

Affected if The installed Adobe AIR version is 19.0.0.241 or any earlier version.
Check for Adobe AIR SDK installations

If you have the Adobe AIR SDK installed for development, locate the SDK directory and open the 'AIR SDK/readme.txt' or 'AIR SDK/version.xml' file to identify the SDK version number.

Affected if The AIR SDK version is 19.0.0.241 or earlier.

You are affected if any installed Adobe Flash Player matches the listed vulnerable versions (11.2.202.548 or earlier, 18.x up to 18.0.0.261, or 19.x versions 19.0.0.185/207/226/245) OR if any installed Adobe AIR or AIR SDK version is 19.0.0.241 or earlier.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

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 20.0.0.228 (or later), and Adobe AIR to version 20.0.0.204 or later. For systems where Flash cannot be updated, consider disabling the Flash plugin or using click-to-play controls.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.268 / 20.0.0.228 / 11.2.202.554 (platform-dependent); AIR/AIR SDK 20.0.0.204

Identify the specific Adobe product affected (Flash Player, AIR, AIR SDK, or AIR SDK & Compiler)
Navigate to the vendor patch URL at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb15-32.html
Download the appropriate patched version for your platform and product
Uninstall the current vulnerable version
Install the patched version: Flash Player 18.0.0.268+ (18.x), 20.0.0.228+ (19.x/20.x Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.554+ (Linux); or AIR/AIR SDK 20.0.0.204+
Restart any browsers or applications using Flash Player or AIR
Verify the installed version matches the fixed release

Caveat Adobe Flash Player is deprecated; consider migrating away from Flash-based applications as Adobe End-of-Life is planned

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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Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-8423 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2015-8423?

The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.

The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
A config change or rule that shut the vector down
A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 19.0.0.241 or later

Severity 10.0 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 43.4%

Affects: Air Sdk

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Air Sdk 11 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $1,930

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2015-8423 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References