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AirApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-8452

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-2015-8414, 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-2015-8434, 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, 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 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by accessing memory after it has been freed, leading to potential complete system compromise.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 18.0.0.268/20.0.0.228 (Win/Mac) or 11.2.202.554 (Linux), and Adobe AIR to version 20.0.0.204 or later.

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
AirApplication
Affected:<= 19.0.0.241
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

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 installed Adobe Flash Player version on Windows
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\CurrentVersion (for system-wide) or HKCU\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\CurrentVersion (for user-specific). Alternatively, run 'Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer\CurrentVersion"' in PowerShell.
    Affected if The version value is less than or equal to 18.0.0.261, or equals 19.0.0.185, 19.0.0.207, 19.0.0.226, or 19.0.0.245, or is less than or equal to 11.2.202.548 (Linux-era version)
  2. Check Adobe Flash Player in web browsers
    For Chrome: navigate to chrome://plugins and locate Flash. For Firefox: navigate to about:plugins. For Edge/IE: check C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash for the DLL file version, or use 'Get-ItemProperty' on the Flash DLL.
    Affected if The browser's Flash plugin version matches the affected versions listed above.
  3. Check installed Adobe AIR version on Windows
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Adobe AIR for the DisplayVersion value. Alternatively, check C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe AIR\versions.xml or the AIR application folder.
    Affected if The version is less than or equal to 19.0.0.241.
  4. Check Adobe AIR SDK installation
    If you are a developer using the AIR SDK, locate the AIR SDK folder (commonly in C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe AIR SDK or within your IDE). Open the AIR SDK Readme or version file, or check the file properties of airsdk.dll or similar core files.
    Affected if The SDK version is less than or equal to 19.0.0.241.
  5. Verify if Flash Player is actively enabled
    In browsers that still support it, check the browser's plugin settings. Ensure the Flash plugin is not disabled or click-to-play only. In Chrome, go to chrome://settings/content and verify Flash is allowed for your sites.
    Affected if Flash is enabled and running with an affected version.

You are affected if Adobe Flash Player, Adobe AIR, or the Adobe AIR SDK is installed with a version matching the affected ranges, AND Flash content can be executed in your environment.

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 (Win/Mac) or 11.2.202.554 (Linux), and Adobe AIR to version 20.0.0.204 or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 20.0.0.228 (or 18.0.0.268 for 18.x branch) on Windows/OS X, 11.2.202.554 on Linux; AIR 20.0.0.204

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to 'About Flash Player' in the player or checking the system plugin list.
  2. 2. For Windows and OS X: If running Flash Player 18.x, upgrade to version 18.0.0.268 or later. If running Flash Player 19.x or 20.x, upgrade to version 20.0.0.228 or later.
  3. 3. For Linux: Upgrade to Flash Player version 11.2.202.554 or later.
  4. 4. For Adobe AIR applications: Upgrade AIR runtime to version 20.0.0.204 or later.
  5. 5. For AIR SDK users: Upgrade Adobe AIR SDK to version 20.0.0.204 or later.
  6. 6. For AIR SDK & Compiler users: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.204 or later.
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the updated version numbers.
  8. 8. Restart any browsers or applications that utilize Flash Player to ensure the new version loads.
Caveat Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life in December 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based content as no further security updates will be available

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

Fix this in Air Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,540
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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-2015-8452 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