Cyber Resilience

CVE-2014-9163

Memory Safety in Adobe Flash Player 13.0 – 13.0.0.259

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedMemory Safety
Published
10 December 2014
Modified
21 April 2026
KEV Added
13 April 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.20 97th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2014-9163 is a high-severity Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); 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.

CVE-2014-9163 is a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability, tracked under CWE-121, that affects Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 13.0.0.259, 14.x and 15.x prior to 15.0.0.246 on Windows and OS X, and prior to 11.2.202.425 on Linux. The flaw resides in the Flash Player component and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8, reflecting local attack vector, low attack complexity, required user interaction, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

An attacker can exploit the issue by supplying specially crafted content that triggers the overflow, resulting in arbitrary code execution on the affected system. The vulnerability was observed being exploited in the wild in December 2014, with the attack path relying on local access and user interaction such as opening a malicious file or visiting a compromised page that invokes Flash.

Adobe addressed the flaw in security bulletin APSB14-27, which details the updated Flash Player releases that remediate the buffer overflow. The vulnerability is also catalogued in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list, confirming active exploitation and underscoring the need for immediate application of the vendor patches on all supported platforms.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Stack-based buffer overflow in Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.259 and 14.x and 15.x before 15.0.0.246 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.425 on Linux allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, as exploited in the wild in…

more

December 2014.

CWE(s)
NVD-CWE-OtherCWE-121
KEV Date Added
13 April 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2015-0310Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2014-8439Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2016-7892Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2012-0754Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2018-5002Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2016-0984Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2017-11292Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2018-15982Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2016-7855Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2026-11024Same product: Linux Linux Kernel

Affected Assets

adobe
flash player
13.0 — 13.0.0.259 · 14.0 — 14.0.0.179 · 15.0 — 15.0.0.246

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

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Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly prevent introduction of stack buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing (fuzzing, static analysis) detects stack overflows before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates buffer-safety practices that directly prevent stack overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify buffer-size and input-validation rules.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety and least-privilege stack usage.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer handling that causes CWE-121.

A.8.32 Change management none match
none

Change-management gates can enforce security reviews that catch buffer issues.

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` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248594 OL 8 must implement address space layout randomization (ASLR) to protect its memory from unauthorized code execution. prevents CWE-121
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271452 OL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. prevents CWE-121

References