CVE-2015-8655 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 crafted MPEG-4 data, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-8048, CVE-2015-8049, CVE-2015-8050, CVE-2015-8055, CVE-2015-8056, 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, CVE-2015-8454, CVE-2015-8653, CVE-2015-8821, and CVE-2015-8822.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/09/2022
The CVE-2015-8655 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR runtime environments that affects multiple platform versions across Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. This vulnerability specifically manifests when processing crafted MPEG-4 media data, creating a dangerous condition where memory previously freed by the application is accessed again, leading to potential code execution. The flaw exists in the multimedia handling component of Adobe's runtime, particularly within the MPEG-4 parser implementation that processes video content. According to industry standards, this vulnerability maps directly to CWE-416, which describes the use of freed memory condition, a fundamental memory safety issue that has been a persistent concern in software development. The vulnerability impacts versions prior to specific patch releases including Flash Player 18.0.0.268, 19.x, and 20.x before 20.0.0.228, alongside Adobe AIR versions before 20.0.0.204, making it a widespread issue affecting numerous installations across enterprise and consumer environments.
The technical exploitation of CVE-2015-8655 occurs when an attacker crafts malicious MPEG-4 data that, when processed by the vulnerable Flash Player or AIR runtime, triggers a memory management error. During normal operation, the application allocates memory for video frame data and subsequently frees it after processing. However, in this specific vulnerability, the application continues to reference this freed memory location when handling crafted media content, creating a use-after-free condition. This condition allows attackers to manipulate the memory layout and potentially overwrite critical function pointers or execute arbitrary code within the context of the running Flash Player process. The attack vector is particularly dangerous because it can be delivered through web browsers or desktop applications that utilize Flash content, making it easily exploitable in typical user scenarios where multimedia content is consumed. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal user interaction, often only visiting a malicious website or opening a specially crafted document, which aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 for Exploitation for Client Execution.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution, as it provides attackers with a powerful foothold for further compromise within affected systems. When successfully exploited, the vulnerability allows attackers to execute malicious code with the privileges of the Flash Player process, which typically runs with the same user permissions as the browser or application that launched it. This can lead to complete system compromise, especially when combined with other exploitation techniques or when the Flash Player is running with elevated privileges. The widespread adoption of Flash Player across different platforms and applications meant that this vulnerability could be leveraged across numerous attack surfaces, including web browsers, desktop applications, and potentially mobile platforms that supported Flash content. Organizations with legacy systems relying heavily on Flash content were particularly vulnerable, as the patching cycle for Flash Player was often delayed due to compatibility concerns with older applications. Security researchers have noted that use-after-free vulnerabilities of this nature are particularly challenging to detect and prevent, as they often require sophisticated memory analysis and can manifest in subtle ways that make them difficult to identify through conventional security scanning methods. The vulnerability's classification as a remote code execution flaw places it within the high-risk category of security issues that require immediate remediation and monitoring to prevent exploitation in the wild.