dbcve.org
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat

CVE-2018-4944

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-05-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 29.0.0.140 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
Adobe Flash Player versions 29.0.0.140 and earlier have an exploitable type confusion vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

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 · moderate confidence

Adobe Flash Player versions 29.0.0.140 and earlier contain a type confusion vulnerability that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the current user. Type confusion occurs when the software improperly handles objects of different types, potentially leading to memory corruption and code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, or preferably uninstall Flash Player entirely given its end-of-life status and replace with modern web technologies.

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:<= 29.0.0.140

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. Confirm Adobe Flash Player is installed
    Check for Flash Player plugin files in browser plugin directories, or query the system package manager (rpm -qa | grep -i flash)
    Affected if No Flash Player package or file is found on the system, meaning the vulnerability does not apply
  2. Identify the installed Flash Player version
    Run 'rpm -q flash-plugin' on RHEL systems, or check the version through the browser's add-on manager if Flash is still present
    Affected if Unable to determine version - the installation may be non-standard or corrupted
  3. Compare your version against the affected range
    Compare the installed version number to 29.0.0.140 - any version less than or equal to 29.0.0.140 is within the affected range
    Affected if The installed version is 29.0.0.140 or any earlier version (for example, 28.0.0.137)
  4. Verify the operating system version
    Check if the system is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.0 using 'cat /etc/redhat-release' or 'cat /etc/os-release'
    Affected if The system is RHEL Desktop, Server, or Workstation version 6.0 AND has Flash Player <= 29.0.0.140 installed

A system is affected if Adobe Flash Player version 29.0.0.140 or earlier is installed, particularly on RHEL 6.0 systems, since the type confusion vulnerability can be exploited through the installed Flash plugin.

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 29.0.0.140
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, or preferably uninstall Flash Player entirely given its end-of-life status and replace with modern web technologies.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Flash Player 29.0.0.171 or later in the 29.x release line

  1. 1. Determine the current Adobe Flash Player version installed by navigating to https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player.html and checking the version displayed, or by opening the Flash Player Settings Manager
  2. 2. If the installed version is 29.0.0.140 or earlier, download the updated Flash Player from the official Adobe website or your organization's software distribution center
  3. 3. Uninstall the current Adobe Flash Player version through the system's package manager or control panel
  4. 4. Install the patched version of Adobe Flash Player (29.0.0.171 or later)
  5. 5. Restart any affected browsers and verify the new Flash Player version is 29.0.0.171 or later
  6. 6. Consider migrating away from Flash Player as Adobe ended support on December 31, 2020 - identify and migrate any Flash-based applications to modern web technologies (HTML5, WebGL, etc.)
Caveat Adobe Flash Player reached end-of-life on December 31, 2020 and no longer receives security updates; continuing to use Flash poses significant ongoing security risks; consider migrating applications to HTML5/WebGL

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

Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2018-4944 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