Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2014-8439 is a high-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique OS Credential Dumping (T1003); ranked in the top 3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 13.0.0.258 and 14.x/15.x prior to 15.0.0.239 on Windows and OS X, prior to 11.2.202.424 on Linux, along with Adobe AIR before 15.0.0.293 and the associated AIR SDK and Compiler before 15.0.0.302, contain an unspecified invalid pointer dereference flaw tracked as CVE-2014-8439. The issue is classified under CWE-119 and CWE-416 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8, reflecting network-accessible impact without authentication requirements beyond user interaction.
An attacker can supply malicious content that triggers the flaw, resulting in arbitrary code execution or a denial-of-service condition on the affected system. Exploitation occurs through the normal attack surface of Flash content rendered in browsers or AIR applications, allowing remote adversaries to achieve full control or crash the process.
Adobe security bulletins APSB14-22 and APSB14-26, along with corresponding OpenSUSE advisories, direct users to apply the listed patched releases for Flash Player, AIR, and the SDK components as the primary mitigation. No further workarounds or configuration changes are specified in the references.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2014-8276
Vulnerability Data
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…
more
to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (invalid pointer dereference) via unspecified vectors.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 25 May 2022
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V1.4.3
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Memory protections (e.g., W^X, ASLR) make exploitation of buffer-boundary violations far harder to turn into code execution.
Ongoing control assessments and code testing (static/dynamic analysis, fuzzing) surface memory buffer restriction failures, which are then remediated before release.
Managed runtimes used by platform-independent applications (e.g., JVM, CLR) enforce memory safety, preventing most buffer overflows that require direct memory manipulation.
Detects exploitation attempts that produce memory corruption, crashes, or anomalous behavior.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.
Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.
Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
- V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416