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Flash PlayerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-8440

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-2015-8409 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 · high confidence

Adobe Flash Player and AIR versions before the specified thresholds contain a security bypass vulnerability allowing attackers to circumvent intended access restrictions. This is a sandbox/escalation vulnerability distinct from related CVEs. The exact exploitation vector is unspecified in the advisory.

MitigationGiven Flash Player reached end-of-life in December 2020, the appropriate remediation is complete removal of Flash Player and AIR from all affected systems rather than updating to the patched version.

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. Identify installed Flash Player version
    On Windows, check the Flash Player version via the Flash Player Help About page, or inspect the DLL file version in the browser plugin directory (e.g., NPSWF32.dll for Netscape-compatible browsers, or the Flash directory in Program Files). On macOS, check the Library/Application Support/Adobe/Flash Player directory.
    Affected if The installed version is 18.0.0.261 or lower, 19.0.0.185, 19.0.0.207, 19.0.0.226, or 19.0.0.245, or 11.2.202.548 or lower.
  2. Identify installed Adobe AIR version
    On Windows, open Programs and Features (or Add or Remove Programs) and locate Adobe AIR to view the installed version, or check the version in the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Adobe AIR. On macOS, check the version in /Library/Application Support/Adobe/AIR.
    Affected if The installed version is 19.0.0.241 or lower.
  3. Identify installed Adobe AIR SDK version
    Check the version of the installed Adobe AIR SDK by reviewing the SDK version file or the AIR SDK directory name where the development tools are installed (commonly found in the SDK installation root).
    Affected if The installed AIR SDK version is 19.0.0.241 or lower.
  4. Identify installed Adobe AIR SDK and Compiler version
    Check the version of the Adobe AIR SDK and Compiler package by reviewing the version information in the SDK installation directory or the AIR SDK release notes.
    Affected if The installed AIR SDK and Compiler version is 19.0.0.241 or lower.

You are affected if any installed Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, Adobe AIR SDK, or Adobe AIR SDK and Compiler version matches one of the affected versions listed in the CVE advisory.

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

Given Flash Player reached end-of-life in December 2020, the appropriate remediation is complete removal of Flash Player and AIR from all affected systems rather than updating to the patched version.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 18.0.0.268+ / 20.0.0.228+ (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 all systems running Adobe Flash Player or Adobe AIR within the organization
  2. 2. For Flash Player on Windows and OS X: upgrade to version 18.0.0.268 or later (recommended: 20.0.0.228 or later)
  3. 3. For Flash Player on Linux: upgrade to version 11.2.202.554 or later
  4. 4. For Adobe AIR: upgrade to version 20.0.0.204 or later
  5. 5. For Adobe AIR SDK: upgrade to version 20.0.0.204 or later
  6. 6. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: upgrade to version 20.0.0.204 or later
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed versions after patching
  8. 8. Reboot affected systems if required by the installer
Caveat Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based content as modern browsers have removed Flash support

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-2015-8440 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