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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-8434

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-2015-8429, CVE-2015-8430, CVE-2015-8431, CVE-2015-8432, CVE-2015-8433, 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 that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. The memory corruption occurs when the program attempts to access memory that has already been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to manipulate memory and achieve code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.268 or later (20.0.0.228 for versions 19.x/20.x) and Adobe AIR to 20.0.0.204 or later across all affected platforms (Windows, OS X, Linux). Consider disabling or removing Flash Player entirely 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:<= 18.0.0.261= 19.0.0.185= 19.0.0.207= 19.0.0.226= 19.0.0.245<= 11.2.202.548
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.241
Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.241
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 if Adobe Flash Player is installed
    On Windows: Check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer. On Linux: Check if /usr/lib/flash-plugin/ or /usr/lib64/flash-plugin/ exists, or look for /etc/adobe/mms.cfg. On macOS: Check /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Flash Player/
    Affected if Any Flash Player installation is found on the system
  2. Determine installed Flash Player version on Windows
    Open Flash Player in a browser and navigate to 'About Flash Player' in the context menu, or check the DLL version at C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\flash.ocx (version property of the file)
    Affected if Version is 18.0.0.261 or lower, 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 lower on Linux/Windows (NPAPI versions)
  3. Determine installed Flash Player version on Linux
    Run rpm -q flash-player or check the version of /usr/lib64/flash-plugin/libflashplayer.so. Alternatively, check the file version of the Flash plugin in the browser's plugin directory
    Affected if Version is 11.2.202.548 or lower
  4. Check if Adobe AIR is installed
    On Windows: Check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\AIR or look for C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe AIR\versions\. On macOS: Check /Applications/Adobe AIR Installer.app or run which adl
    Affected if Adobe AIR is installed on the system
  5. Determine installed Adobe AIR version
    Check the 'version' file in the Adobe AIR installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe AIR\versions\<version>\), or right-click the Adobe AIR application and view Properties > Details
    Affected if Version is 19.0.0.241 or lower
  6. Check for Flash Player 11.x on Windows
    For IE/Edge (ActiveX): Check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayerActiveX. For Firefox/Netscape (NPAPI): Check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayerPlugin
    Affected if Version 11.2.202.548 or lower is found in either registry location

A system is affected if Adobe Flash Player (any version 18.0.0.261 or lower, specific 19.x versions listed, or 11.2.202.548 or lower) or Adobe AIR (19.0.0.241 or lower) is installed.

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

Upgrade Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.268 or later (20.0.0.228 for versions 19.x/20.x) and Adobe AIR to 20.0.0.204 or later across all affected platforms (Windows, OS X, Linux). Consider disabling or removing Flash Player entirely given its end-of-life status.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.268+ (Windows/OS X), 11.2.202.554+ (Linux); 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 About Flash Player in the player interface or checking the installed programs list
  2. 2. Identify the installed Adobe AIR version by checking the installed programs list or checking the AIR SDK version if using development tools
  3. 3. For Flash Player: Download and install version 18.0.0.268 or later for Windows/OS X, or version 11.2.202.554 or later for Linux from the official Adobe Flash Player download page
  4. 4. For Adobe AIR: Download and install version 20.0.0.204 or later from the official Adobe AIR download page
  5. 5. For Adobe AIR SDK: Download and install version 20.0.0.204 or later from the Adobe AIR SDK download page
  6. 6. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: Download and install version 20.0.0.204 or later from the Adobe AIR SDK download page
  7. 7. Restart any browsers or applications that use Flash Player or AIR after installation
  8. 8. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed versions specified
Caveat Adobe Flash Player and AIR are deprecated technologies; ensure any dependent applications are compatible with the upgrade

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-2015-8434 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data