dbcve.org
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat

CVE-2018-15981

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-11-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 31.0.0.148 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
Flash Player versions 31.0.0.148 and earlier have a type confusion vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.

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 versions 31.0.0.148 and earlier contain a type confusion vulnerability that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by manipulating object types during runtime, potentially leading to complete system compromise.

MitigationSince Adobe Flash Player has been deprecated and reached end-of-life, the primary remediation is to completely uninstall or remove Flash Player from all affected systems; where removal is not feasible, implement defense-in-depth controls such as network segmentation and application whitelisting.

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
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
Affected:= 6.0
Flash Player Desktop RuntimeApplication
Affected:<= 31.0.0.148
Flash PlayerApplication
Affected:<= 31.0.0.148

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Macromedia\FlashPlayer or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Macromedia\FlashPlayer, then look for the Version value
    Affected if The Version value exists and is less than or equal to 31.0.0.148, or the key exists with no version specified (indicating an older install)
  2. Check for Flash Player plugin in web browsers on Windows
    For Chrome: Navigate to chrome://plugins and look for Adobe Flash Player. For Firefox: Navigate to about:addons and check the Plugins section. For Edge/IE: Check C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash for the Flash.ocx file
    Affected if Flash Player plugin is present in any browser and the version is 31.0.0.148 or earlier
  3. Check for Flash Player on Linux systems
    Run rpm -qa | grep -i flash or check /usr/lib/flash-plugin/ for Red Hat systems. Also check browser plugin directories: ~/.mozilla/plugins/ and /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/
    Affected if Flash Player package is installed with a version at or below 31.0.0.148
  4. Check for Flash Player on macOS
    Check /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ for Flash Player.plugin. Also check ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ for user-installed Flash. Run: defaults read /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/Flash\ Player.plugin/Contents/Info CFBundleVersion to get version
    Affected if Flash Player plugin exists and version is 31.0.0.148 or earlier
  5. Verify Adobe Flash Player version via NPAPI/PPAPI DLL
    On Windows, right-click the Flash.ocx or FlashPlayerPlugin_*.dll file in System32 or the browser plugin folder, select Properties, and check the File Version tab. Compare against 31.0.0.148
    Affected if The DLL file exists and shows version 31.0.0.148 or lower

If Adobe Flash Player is present on the system and its version number is 31.0.0.148 or any earlier version, the system is affected by this vulnerability.

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 31.0.0.148
Interim mitigation

Since Adobe Flash Player has been deprecated and reached end-of-life, the primary remediation is to completely uninstall or remove Flash Player from all affected systems; where removal is not feasible, implement defense-in-depth controls such as network segmentation and application whitelisting.

Recommended fix High confidence
  1. Remove Flash Player from the system using the appropriate method for the operating system.
  2. For Windows: Use Control Panel > Programs and Features to uninstall Adobe Flash Player.
  3. For macOS: Remove the /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/FlashPlayer.plugin directory and related files.
  4. For Linux: Remove flash-player-properties and related packages using the package manager (e.g., yum remove flash-plugin or apt remove flashplugin-installer).
  5. Ensure all browser plugins related to Flash are also disabled or removed.
  6. Verify removal by checking that Flash is no longer listed in browser extensions or add-ons.
Caveat Flash Player has reached end-of-life as of December 31, 2020 and should not be used. The fix is removal, not upgrade.

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

Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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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-2018-15981 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