Flash Player
CVE-2015-3113
CRITICAL
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components
ASVS 5.0
V14 - Configuration Dependency management, component inventory
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | Critical risk (CVSS 9.8). APT3 (Gothic Panda/Buckeye), attributed to China's Ministry of State Security, used this zero-day in targeted phishing campaigns against US aerospace and defense companies for intellectual property theft. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | APT3 sent phishing emails with links to attacker-controlled sites hosting Flash exploit code. When targets with vulnerable Flash Player visited the site, the heap overflow triggered, installing the Shotput/Pirpi backdoor for persistent access and data exfiltration. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 26, 2026
Adobe Flash Player contains a heap-based buffer overflow that allows remote code execution, exploited as a zero-day in June 2015 by APT3 (a Chinese cyber espionage group) in phishing campaigns targeting aerospace and defense organizations.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
A heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Flash Player enables remote code execution across Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. Exploited as a zero-day by APT3 in June 2015.
RemediationAI
Flash Player is end-of-life. Remove all Flash installations. Block Flash content at network perimeter and in browsers.
Affects your stack
Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The CWE-787 heap overflow in Flash's media processing code allows memory corruption leading to arbitrary code execution. The exploit was delivered through Flash content embedded in web pages and targeted specific browser/Flash version combinations.
Know when Flash Player gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionCVE.org
Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.296 and 14.x through 18.x before 18.0.0.194 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.468 on Linux allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, as exploited in the wild in June 2015.
Executive ViewAI
Organizations using Adobe Flash Player face critical risk from CVE-2015-3113, a out-of-bounds write vulnerability rated CVSS 9.8. Exploitation could allow attackers to corrupt memory, crash the application, or potentially execute arbitrary code. This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild (KEV-listed) and requires immediate remediation. A patch is available and should be applied immediately given the critical severity.
Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Enable ASLR and DEP where available; (2) Implement network segmentation; (3) Monitor for exploitation indicators.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
CISA KEV
EPSS
Exploit-DB
GitHub
VulDB
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org
More in Flash Player
View allRemote code execution in Adobe Flash Player 11.x through 18.x allows unauthenticated network attackers to execute arbitr
Remote code execution in Adobe Flash Player 21.0.0.226 and earlier allows unauthenticated network attackers to execute a
Adobe Flash Player contains a type confusion vulnerability in object handling that allows remote attackers to execute ar
Integer underflow in Adobe Flash Player before 11.7.700.261 and 11.8.x through 12.0.x before 12.0.0.44 on Windows and Ma
Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.269 and 14.x through 16.x before 16.0.0.305 on Windows
Use-after-free vulnerability in the DisplayObject class in the ActionScript 3 (AS3) implementation in Adobe Flash Player
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player through 13.0.0.262 and 14.x, 15.x, and 16.x through 16.0.0.287 on Window
Adobe Flash Player 10.2 and earlier across all platforms contain an unspecified vulnerability allowing remote code execu
Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.281 and 14.x through 17.x before 17.0.0.169 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.457
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 11.3.300.271 on Windows and Mac OS X and before 11.2.202.238 on L
Double free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 11.7.700.269 and 11.8.x through 12.0.x before 12.0.0.70 on Window
Adobe Flash Player 18.x through 18.0.0.252 and 19.x through 19.0.0.207 on Windows and OS X and 11.x through 11.2.202.535