CVE-2015-8056 in Flash Player
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.268 and 19.x and 20.x before 20.0.0.228 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.554 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 20.0.0.204, Adobe AIR SDK before 20.0.0.204, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 20.0.0.204 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-8048, CVE-2015-8049, CVE-2015-8050, CVE-2015-8055, CVE-2015-8057, CVE-2015-8058, CVE-2015-8059, CVE-2015-8061, CVE-2015-8062, CVE-2015-8063, CVE-2015-8064, CVE-2015-8065, CVE-2015-8066, CVE-2015-8067, CVE-2015-8068, CVE-2015-8069, CVE-2015-8070, CVE-2015-8071, CVE-2015-8401, CVE-2015-8402, CVE-2015-8403, CVE-2015-8404, CVE-2015-8405, CVE-2015-8406, CVE-2015-8410, CVE-2015-8411, CVE-2015-8412, CVE-2015-8413, CVE-2015-8414, CVE-2015-8420, CVE-2015-8421, CVE-2015-8422, CVE-2015-8423, CVE-2015-8424, CVE-2015-8425, CVE-2015-8426, CVE-2015-8427, CVE-2015-8428, CVE-2015-8429, CVE-2015-8430, CVE-2015-8431, CVE-2015-8432, CVE-2015-8433, CVE-2015-8434, CVE-2015-8435, CVE-2015-8436, CVE-2015-8437, CVE-2015-8441, CVE-2015-8442, CVE-2015-8447, CVE-2015-8448, CVE-2015-8449, CVE-2015-8450, CVE-2015-8452, and CVE-2015-8454.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/30/2022
The CVE-2015-8056 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Adobe Flash Player and related software components that existed across multiple platform versions and release streams. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-416 category of Use After Free, which occurs when a program continues to reference memory after it has been freed, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate program execution flow. The affected software versions spanned Adobe Flash Player 18.0.0.267 and earlier, 19.x versions, 20.x versions before 20.0.0.228, and corresponding Adobe AIR implementations before 20.0.0.204. The vulnerability specifically impacted Windows and macOS operating systems for Flash Player, while Linux systems were affected through versions before 11.2.202.554. This issue demonstrates the complex nature of memory management vulnerabilities in multimedia frameworks where object lifecycle management becomes critical during dynamic content processing.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves attackers leveraging the use-after-free condition to gain control over program execution flow and potentially execute arbitrary code on affected systems. Attackers typically craft malicious Flash content that triggers the vulnerable memory access pattern, causing the program to reference freed memory locations that can be manipulated to redirect execution flow. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple code execution to potentially enable privilege escalation or system compromise, particularly when Flash Player runs with elevated privileges or when combined with other exploitation techniques. The specific attack vectors remain undisclosed in the public CVE description, which is typical for zero-day vulnerabilities that are actively exploited in the wild.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-8056 was substantial as Adobe Flash Player was widely deployed across enterprise and consumer environments, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous for organizations with extensive Flash content usage. The vulnerability's presence in both Flash Player and AIR implementations meant that attackers could target applications built with these technologies, potentially compromising entire application ecosystems. Security researchers noted that this vulnerability was particularly concerning due to its potential for remote code execution without user interaction, as Flash content often loads automatically in web browsers. The affected versions included major release streams that were commonly used in enterprise environments, making the exploitation surface area extremely broad.
Organizations affected by CVE-2015-8056 were advised to implement immediate mitigation strategies including patching affected software to the latest versions, disabling Flash Player in browsers, and implementing network-based controls to prevent access to potentially malicious Flash content. The vulnerability highlighted the importance of keeping multimedia frameworks updated, as Flash Player was frequently targeted by attackers due to its widespread deployment and complex codebase. Security teams were encouraged to monitor for exploitation attempts and implement behavioral monitoring to detect anomalous Flash Player behavior. Additionally, the vulnerability underscored the need for comprehensive application whitelisting and sandboxing strategies to limit the impact of such exploits. This vulnerability was part of a broader set of Flash Player exploits in 2015, demonstrating the ongoing challenges in securing multimedia frameworks that handle complex binary data processing and memory management operations. The vulnerability's classification under the ATT&CK framework would align with techniques involving code injection and privilege escalation, as attackers could leverage the use-after-free condition to execute malicious payloads with elevated privileges.