CVE-2018-4878
Adobe Flash Player Use-After-Free Vulnerability
Does this matter?
Known to be exploited in the wild (CISA KEV, CISA remediation deadline 3 May 2022). Treat as an emergency change: patch or isolate now, then hunt for prior compromise.
Description
A use-after-free vulnerability was discovered in Adobe Flash Player before 28.0.0.161. This vulnerability occurs due to a dangling pointer in the Primetime SDK related to media player handling of listener objects. A successful attack can lead to arbitrary code execution. This was exploited in the wild in January and February 2018.
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 90.28% probability · 100th percentile
- Public exploits
- 3 in Exploit-DB · first 13 February 2016
- CISA KEV
- Listed 3 November 2021 · due 3 May 2022 · used in ransomware campaigns
- Weakness
- CWE-416
- Affected
- adobe/flash player · redhat/enterprise linux desktop · redhat/enterprise linux server · redhat/enterprise linux workstation
- Source
- psirt@adobe.com
EPSS 90.3% since 27 October 2026; no change recorded yet. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
CISA notes
The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-4878
Public exploits (3)
Entries in Exploit-DB that cite this CVE. Links go to the Exploit-DB page and to the file in the public repository; nothing is hosted here. A verified tick means the Exploit-DB team confirmed the exploit works against the stated version.
| EDB-ID | Title | Type | Published | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDB-44412source ↗ | Adobe Flash < 28.0.0.161 - Use-After-Freemultiple · SyFi | remote | 6 April 2018 | no |
| EDB-44744source ↗ | Flash ActiveX 28.0.0.137 - Code Execution (1)windows · smgorelik | local | 16 February 2016 | no |
| EDB-44745source ↗ | Flash ActiveX 28.0.0.137 - Code Execution (2)windows · smgorelik | local | 13 February 2016 | no |
References
- http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2018/02/group-123-goes-wild.htmlTechnical Description, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102893Broken Link
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040318Broken Link
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0285Third Party Advisory
- https://blog.morphisec.com/flash-exploit-cve-2018-4878-spotted-in-the-wild-massive-malspam-campaignThird Party Advisory
- https://github.com/InQuest/malware-samples/tree/master/CVE-2018-4878-Adobe-Flash-DRM-UAF-0dayThird Party Advisory
- https://github.com/vysec/CVE-2018-4878Third Party Advisory
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb18-03.htmlVendor Advisory
- https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/hackers-bypassed-adobe-flash-protection-mechanism/Exploit, Third Party Advisory
- https://threatpost.com/adobe-flash-player-zero-day-spotted-in-the-wild/129742/Third Party Advisory
- https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/adobe-flash-vulnerability-reappears-in-malicious-word-files/d/d-id/1331139Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44412/Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2018/02/attacks-leveraging-adobe-zero-day.htmlThird Party Advisory
- https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/vulnerabilities-and-exploits/north-korean-hackers-allegedly-exploit-adobe-flash-player-vulnerability-cve-2018-4878-against-south-korean-targetsTechnical Description, Third Party Advisory
- http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2018/02/group-123-goes-wild.htmlTechnical Description, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102893Broken Link
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040318Broken Link
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0285Third Party Advisory
- https://blog.morphisec.com/flash-exploit-cve-2018-4878-spotted-in-the-wild-massive-malspam-campaignThird Party Advisory
- https://github.com/InQuest/malware-samples/tree/master/CVE-2018-4878-Adobe-Flash-DRM-UAF-0dayThird Party Advisory
- https://github.com/vysec/CVE-2018-4878Third Party Advisory
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb18-03.htmlVendor Advisory
- https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/hackers-bypassed-adobe-flash-protection-mechanism/Exploit, Third Party Advisory
- https://threatpost.com/adobe-flash-player-zero-day-spotted-in-the-wild/129742/Third Party Advisory
- https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/adobe-flash-vulnerability-reappears-in-malicious-word-files/d/d-id/1331139Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44412/Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2018/02/attacks-leveraging-adobe-zero-day.htmlThird Party Advisory
- https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/vulnerabilities-and-exploits/north-korean-hackers-allegedly-exploit-adobe-flash-player-vulnerability-cve-2018-4878-against-south-korean-targetsTechnical Description, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/cisagov/vulnrichment/issues/196Issue Tracking
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-4878Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.