CVE-2015-4430 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.302 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.203 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.481 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 18.0.0.180, Adobe AIR SDK before 18.0.0.180, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 18.0.0.180 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3118, CVE-2015-3124, CVE-2015-3127, CVE-2015-3128, CVE-2015-3129, CVE-2015-3131, CVE-2015-3132, CVE-2015-3136, CVE-2015-3137, CVE-2015-4428, and CVE-2015-5117.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/18/2025
The CVE-2015-4430 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Adobe Flash Player and related software components that affected multiple platform versions and deployment scenarios. This vulnerability specifically targets the memory management mechanisms within Adobe's runtime environment, creating a condition where freed memory blocks could be accessed and potentially exploited by malicious actors. The flaw exists across Windows and macOS platforms for Flash Player versions prior to 13.0.0.302 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.203, while Linux systems were impacted by versions before 11.2.202.481. Additionally, the vulnerability extended to Adobe AIR runtime environments and their corresponding SDKs, with affected versions prior to 18.0.0.180 across all supported platforms.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory deallocation handling within the Flash Player's object management system. When certain objects were destroyed or removed from memory, the application failed to properly invalidate references to those memory locations, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate freed memory blocks. This use-after-free condition typically occurs when a program continues to reference memory after it has been freed, potentially allowing for memory corruption that can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability operates through unspecified attack vectors that differ from other contemporaneous Flash Player flaws, making it particularly challenging to detect and mitigate as it required specific conditions to be triggered successfully.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-4430 was substantial given Flash Player's widespread deployment across enterprise and consumer environments. Organizations relying on Flash-based applications, web content, and multimedia presentations faced significant risk exposure, as successful exploitation could lead to complete system compromise. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to execute malicious code with the privileges of the Flash Player process, potentially escalating to system-level access. The vulnerability's presence in both desktop and mobile runtime environments meant that organizations needed to implement comprehensive patching strategies across multiple software platforms. The timeframe of the vulnerability's exploitation window was particularly concerning, as Flash Player remained a critical component of many web applications and corporate systems throughout 2015.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-4430 required immediate patch deployment and comprehensive system hardening measures. Organizations should have prioritized updating all affected Adobe Flash Player installations, AIR runtime environments, and SDKs to their patched versions. The recommended approach included implementing automated patch management systems to ensure consistent deployment across all endpoints, combined with network segmentation to limit potential attack surfaces. Security teams needed to monitor for exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and endpoint detection systems, as the vulnerability's exploitation often involved complex attack chains that could be detected through behavioral analysis. Additionally, organizations should have considered disabling Flash Player execution in web browsers where possible, implementing browser sandboxing technologies, and conducting thorough security assessments of Flash-based applications to identify potential attack vectors. This vulnerability highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date software components and implementing layered security approaches to protect against sophisticated exploitation techniques.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-416, which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions in software development, and demonstrates how such flaws can be exploited in runtime environments. The attack patterns associated with CVE-2015-4430 would have mapped to several ATT&CK techniques including execution through compromised applications, privilege escalation via memory corruption, and initial access through web-based attack vectors. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue emphasizes the critical importance of proper memory management in application development and the need for comprehensive security testing throughout the software development lifecycle.