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Air SdkApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-8459

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.0 Published 2015-12-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 20.0.0.204 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 18.0.0.324 and 19.x and 20.x before 20.0.0.267 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.559 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 20.0.0.233, Adobe AIR SDK before 20.0.0.233, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 20.0.0.233 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-8460, CVE-2015-8636, and CVE-2015-8645.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allowing arbitrary code execution or denial of service. The flaw exists in unspecified vectors within the Flash runtime and AIR components, exploited through malicious SWF content.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to 18.0.0.324/20.0.0.267 or later, and Adobe AIR to 20.0.0.233 or later. Consider migrating from Flash-based applications as Flash reached end-of-life in 2020.

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
Air SdkApplication
Affected:<= 20.0.0.204
Air Sdk \& CompilerApplication
Affected:<= 20.0.0.204
AirApplication
Affected:<= 20.0.0.204
Flash PlayerApplication
Affected:<= 11.2.202.554<= 18.0.0.268= 19.0.0.185= 19.0.0.207= 19.0.0.226= 19.0.0.245= 20.0.0.228= 20.0.0.235

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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, look for Flash in the browser plugins folder (C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\) or check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer. On macOS, check /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Flash Player/
    Affected if The Flash player file or registry entry exists on the system
  2. Determine installed Flash Player version
    For the browser plugin, enter 'about:plugin' in the URL bar (Firefox) or check chrome://plugins (Chrome). For standalone, right-click the executable and select Properties > Details for the version. On Windows, also query: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer' /v Version
    Affected if The version displayed is 11.2.202.554 or lower; 18.0.0.268 or lower; or exactly 19.0.0.185, 19.0.0.207, 19.0.0.226, 19.0.0.245, 20.0.0.228, or 20.0.0.235
  3. Check if Adobe AIR runtime is installed
    On Windows, look in C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe AIR\ or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe AIR\. On macOS, check /Applications/Adobe AIR/. Also check the Windows registry: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\AIR' /v Version
    Affected if The Adobe AIR folder or registry entry exists and contains version information
  4. Determine installed Adobe AIR version
    If the Adobe AIR folder exists, right-click the AIRApplicationInstaller.exe or similar executable and view Properties > Details for the version number. Or query: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\AIR' /v Version
    Affected if The version is 20.0.0.204 or lower, which falls within the affected range for Adobe AIR Sdk, AIR Sdk & Compiler, and AIR products
  5. Identify if Flash content is being executed
    Review running browser processes for Flash plugin (npapi or ppapi) or check if any internal applications depend on Adobe AIR. Use process monitoring or check installed programs for Adobe AIR-based applications
    Affected if Flash Player or AIR applications are actively in use or installed, and the version falls within the affected ranges listed above

A user is affected if Adobe Flash Player version is <= 11.2.202.554, <= 18.0.0.268, or exactly 19.0.0.185/207/226/245/20.0.0.228/235, OR if Adobe AIR version is <= 20.0.0.204, and the runtime is present on the system.

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 20.0.0.204
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to 18.0.0.324/20.0.0.267 or later, and Adobe AIR to 20.0.0.233 or later. Consider migrating from Flash-based applications as Flash reached end-of-life in 2020.

Recommended fix High confidence

Flash Player 20.0.0.267 (or 18.0.0.324 for 18.x branch); Flash Player 11.2.202.559 (Linux); Adobe AIR 20.0.0.233; Adobe AIR SDK 20.0.0.233; Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler 20.0.0.233

  1. 1. Identify the installed Adobe Flash Player version by navigating to 'About Flash Player' in the right-click context menu or visiting version check websites
  2. 2. Identify the installed Adobe AIR version via Windows Control Panel or macOS Applications folder
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Adobe security bulletin (APSB16-01): https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb16-01.html
  4. 4. For Flash Player: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.267 or later (Windows/OS X), or version 11.2.202.559 or later (Linux)
  5. 5. For Adobe AIR: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.233 or later
  6. 6. For Adobe AIR SDK: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.233 or later
  7. 7. For Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler: Upgrade to version 20.0.0.233 or later
  8. 8. Restart any browsers or applications using Flash Player or AIR after installation
Caveat Adobe Flash Player is deprecated and no longer supported as of December 2020; consider migrating away from Flash-based content

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

Fix this in Air Sdk Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-2015-8459 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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