CVE-2015-3043 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.281 and 14.x through 17.x before 17.0.0.169 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.457 on Linux allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, as exploited in the wild in April 2015, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-0347, CVE-2015-0350, CVE-2015-0352, CVE-2015-0353, CVE-2015-0354, CVE-2015-0355, CVE-2015-0360, CVE-2015-3038, CVE-2015-3041, and CVE-2015-3042.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/22/2026
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 13.0.0.281 on Windows and OS X and versions 14.x through 17.x before 17.0.0.169 on these platforms, along with versions before 11.2.202.457 on Linux, contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service attacks. This vulnerability represented a distinct threat vector from other contemporaneous Flash Player flaws, demonstrating the complex nature of multimedia player security. The flaw manifested through unspecified attack vectors that allowed adversaries to manipulate memory structures within the Flash Player runtime environment, creating opportunities for arbitrary code execution or system instability. The vulnerability was actively exploited in the wild during April 2015, indicating that threat actors had developed working exploit code targeting this specific memory corruption issue. This type of vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to memory corruption and potentially arbitrary code execution. The attack surface was particularly concerning given Flash Player's widespread deployment across multiple operating systems and its frequent use in web browsers. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability represented a significant risk to enterprise environments where Flash Player remained enabled and active, as it could be leveraged to establish persistent access or disrupt services through denial of service conditions. The exploitability of this vulnerability was heightened by Flash Player's integration with web browsers, allowing attackers to deliver malicious content through standard web traffic without requiring user interaction beyond visiting compromised websites. Organizations faced challenges in mitigating this vulnerability due to the widespread use of Flash Player across legacy applications and the complexity of maintaining updated versions across diverse platform environments. The vulnerability's exploitation could be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1059.007, which covers the use of scripting languages through web browsers, demonstrating how memory corruption flaws could be weaponized to execute malicious code in user contexts. The specific memory corruption nature of this vulnerability required careful analysis of heap management and memory allocation patterns within the Flash Player runtime, highlighting the importance of robust memory safety practices in multimedia frameworks. Security researchers noted that the vulnerability's exploitation was particularly effective in environments where Flash Player was frequently used for multimedia content delivery, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to leverage the platform's extensive reach and user engagement. The timeframe of exploitation in April 2015 coincided with other Flash Player vulnerabilities, suggesting coordinated attack campaigns that targeted the platform's extensive attack surface and the widespread nature of its deployment across enterprise and consumer environments. This vulnerability underscored the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date multimedia plugins and highlighted the inherent risks associated with legacy software components that continue to receive security updates despite their age. Organizations needed to implement immediate patch management procedures and consider disabling Flash Player functionality in environments where it was not essential for business operations, as the vulnerability could be exploited to gain complete system compromise through carefully crafted malicious content delivered via web-based attack vectors.