dbcve.org
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat

CVE-2018-4871

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-01-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 28.0.0.126 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
An Out-of-bounds Read issue was discovered in Adobe Flash Player before 28.0.0.137. This vulnerability occurs because of computation that reads data that is past the end of the target buffer. The use of an invalid (out-of-range) pointer offset during access of internal data structure fields causes the vulnerability. A successful attack can lead to sensitive data exposure.

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 contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability where the software reads data past the end of a target buffer due to computation using an invalid (out-of-range) pointer offset when accessing internal data structure fields. This can lead to exposure of sensitive information.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Flash Player to version 28.0.0.137 or later. Given Flash Player's deprecation, organizations should evaluate removing it entirely if not required for critical legacy applications.

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 PlayerApplication
Affected:<= 28.0.0.126

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
None
Availability
None

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

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 for flashplayerapp.exe in Program Files or browser plugin directories. On Linux, run 'rpm -qa | grep -i flash' or check /usr/lib/flash-plugin. On macOS, check /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Flash Player or browser plugins.
    Affected if Adobe Flash Player is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed Flash Player version
    On Windows, run the Flash Player or check the file properties of npapi*.dll or pepflashplayer*.dll in browser plugin folders. On Linux, run 'rpm -q flash-plugin' or check the version file in the Flash plugin directory. In browsers, navigate to 'about:plugins' or check Flash's version info via right-click on any SWF content.
    Affected if Version is 28.0.0.126 or earlier (any version <= 28.0.0.126)
  3. Check for the vulnerable NPAPI/PPAPI plugin
    Identify the specific Flash plugin files: npapi*.dll (for Firefox/Netscape), pepflashplayer*.dll (for Chrome/Edge), or libflashplayer.so (for Linux). Note that multiple browser installations may each have their own Flash plugin copy.
    Affected if Any installed Flash plugin version is <= 28.0.0.126
  4. Verify RHEL system version if applicable
    Run 'cat /etc/redhat-release' or 'hostnamectl' to confirm the RHEL version. If Flash Player is installed on RHEL 6.0 (Desktop, Server, or Workstation), cross-reference with the Flash version found in the previous step.
    Affected if System is RHEL 6.0 and Adobe Flash Player <= 28.0.0.126 is installed

A system is affected if Adobe Flash Player version 28.0.0.126 or earlier is installed, regardless of operating system, or if Flash Player <= 28.0.0.126 exists on Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 6.0.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 28.0.0.126
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Flash Player to version 28.0.0.137 or later. Given Flash Player's deprecation, organizations should evaluate removing it entirely if not required for critical legacy applications.

Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2018-4871 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