CVE-2015-5552 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.232 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.508 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 18.0.0.199, Adobe AIR SDK before 18.0.0.199, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 18.0.0.199 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-5544, CVE-2015-5545, CVE-2015-5546, CVE-2015-5547, CVE-2015-5548, CVE-2015-5549, and CVE-2015-5553.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/23/2024
Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR runtime environments suffered from a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution and denial of service conditions across multiple platforms and versions. This vulnerability specifically affected Flash Player versions prior to 18.0.0.232 on Windows and OS X systems, and versions prior to 11.2.202.508 on Linux platforms, alongside affected Adobe AIR versions and SDKs. The flaw manifested through unspecified attack vectors that differed from other vulnerabilities in the same CVE family, indicating a distinct code path or memory handling mechanism within the affected software components. The vulnerability's classification aligns with CWE-119, which addresses memory corruption issues that can lead to arbitrary code execution, making it particularly dangerous in web browser environments where Flash content is frequently executed. The attack surface was extensive given Flash Player's widespread deployment across enterprise and consumer environments, where users commonly encountered Flash-based content through web browsers, email attachments, and web applications.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability leveraged memory corruption patterns that allowed attackers to manipulate program execution flow and potentially execute malicious code with the privileges of the affected application. This type of vulnerability typically occurs when software fails to properly validate memory operations, leading to buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or other memory management errors that can be coerced into executing arbitrary instructions. The denial of service aspect of this vulnerability demonstrated the instability of the affected software when encountering malformed input, potentially causing application crashes or system hangs that could be exploited for persistent disruption. The specific nature of the vulnerability required attackers to craft malicious Flash content or web pages that would trigger the memory corruption when processed by the vulnerable software components. This attack model aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves the exploitation of memory corruption vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access or cause system instability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extended beyond simple exploitation, as it represented a significant security risk for organizations relying on Flash-based content delivery. Enterprise environments faced potential compromise through drive-by downloads or malicious websites that leveraged the vulnerability to install backdoors or other malicious payloads. The cross-platform nature of the vulnerability meant that security teams had to implement comprehensive patching strategies across multiple operating systems and software versions. Organizations that had not yet migrated away from Flash-based applications were particularly vulnerable, as the attack surface remained large and the exploitation techniques could be automated through existing malware frameworks. The vulnerability's persistence in multiple product lines including AIR, AIR SDK, and the compiler components indicated a fundamental flaw in the underlying code architecture that required thorough remediation across all affected software stacks. Security professionals needed to implement immediate mitigation strategies including browser plugin restrictions, network-based filtering, and comprehensive vulnerability assessment procedures to identify and remediate affected systems. The incident highlighted the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software components and implementing layered security controls to protect against sophisticated memory corruption attacks that could bypass traditional security measures.