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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-8429

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 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-2015-8414, 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-2015-8430, 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 arbitrary code execution. Affects versions before 18.0.0.268/20.0.0.228 (Windows/OS X), before 11.2.202.554 (Linux), and Adobe AIR/SDK before 20.0.0.204. The vulnerability involves improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed, enabling attacker-controlled code execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.268, 20.0.0.228, or later (or 11.2.202.554 for Linux), and update Adobe AIR/SDK to 20.0.0.204 or later. Alternatively, remove Flash Player entirely if no longer required, as it has reached end-of-life.

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 Mac
    Open Flash Player Settings (right-click on Flash content or go to Adobe's version check page at flashplayer-versions.com), or check Add/Remove Programs/Control Panel for installed version
    Affected if Version is 18.0.0.261 or lower, OR version equals 19.0.0.185, 19.0.0.207, 19.0.0.226, or 19.0.0.245 (Windows/OS X); OR version is 11.2.202.548 or lower (Linux)
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player version on Linux
    Run command: dpkg -l | grep flash or rpm -q flash-plugin, or check /usr/lib/flash-plugin/ for the plugin file version
    Affected if Version is 11.2.202.548 or lower
  3. Check Adobe AIR version
    Windows: Open Control Panel > Programs and Features > Adobe AIR, or run 'aircap -version' if installed. Mac: Check /Applications/Adobe AIR folder or run 'aircap -version' in Terminal
    Affected if Version is 19.0.0.241 or lower
  4. Check Adobe AIR SDK version
    If you compile AIR applications, check the SDK directory for version.txt or run: adt -version (from the SDK bin folder)
    Affected if SDK version is 19.0.0.241 or lower
  5. Verify if Flash Player is enabled in browser
    Check browser extensions/plugins: Chrome (chrome://plugins), Firefox (about:addons > Plugins), Edge/IE (Manage Add-ons)
    Affected if Flash Player plugin is enabled AND installed version matches affected versions above

You are affected if Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or Adobe AIR SDK is installed with a version matching the affected ranges listed above and Flash content can be loaded in a browser or AIR application.

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 11.2.202.554 for Linux), and update Adobe AIR/SDK to 20.0.0.204 or later. Alternatively, remove Flash Player entirely if no longer required, as it has reached end-of-life.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 20.0.0.228 or later; Adobe AIR 20.0.0.204 or later; Adobe AIR SDK 20.0.0.204 or later; Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler 20.0.0.204 or later

  1. Identify the installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to About Flash Player in the player
  2. Identify the installed Adobe AIR version via Windows Control Panel or macOS Applications folder
  3. For Flash Player: download and install version 20.0.0.228 or later from the official Adobe security bulletin (apsb15-32)
  4. For Adobe AIR: download and install version 20.0.0.204 or later from the official Adobe security bulletin (apsb15-32)
  5. For Adobe AIR SDK: download and install version 20.0.0.204 or later from the Adobe AIR SDK download page
  6. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: download and install version 20.0.0.204 or later from the Adobe AIR SDK download page
  7. Restart any browsers or applications that use Flash Player or AIR after installation
  8. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release using the version checker
Caveat Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based content as modern browsers have disabled Flash Player by default

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

Fix this in Flash Player Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2015-8429 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
  • 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