Actively exploited vulnerability

Adobe Flash Player: code execution flaw under attack

CVE-2014-8439 · Adobe Flash Player Dereferenced Pointer Vulnerability

Concerns everyone who uses it8.8 high

What is affected

Adobe Flash Player is found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use it and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.

Adobe Flash Player has a vulnerability in the way it handles a dereferenced memory pointer which could lead to code execution.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a code execution flaw. It lets an attacker run their own commands or programs on the affected system. In practice that usually means taking it over: installing malware, stealing data or using it to reach other devices on the same network.

How it is reached
Over the internet or network
Access the attacker needs
No account needed
Does the victim have to do something?
Yes, the victim must open or click something

What to do

  1. Update Adobe Flash Player now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
  2. Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
  3. If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.

The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on May 25, 2022, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by June 15, 2022, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 20% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 97% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 8.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.258 and 14.x and 15.x before 15.0.0.239 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.424 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 15.0.0.293, Adobe AIR SDK before 15.0.0.302, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 15.0.0.302 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (invalid pointer dereference) via unspecified vectors.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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