Cyber Resilience

CVE-2018-4878

Memory Safety in Adobe Flash Player ≤ 28.0.0.161

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedMemory Safety
Published
06 February 2018
Modified
18 November 2025
KEV Added
03 November 2021
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 0.90 99.8th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2018-4878 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked in the top 0.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

A use-after-free vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2018-4878 and assigned CWE-416, affects Adobe Flash Player versions prior to 28.0.0.161. It stems from a dangling pointer in the Primetime SDK during media player handling of listener objects, which can be triggered to permit arbitrary code execution. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 under the vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

An attacker can exploit the issue locally without authentication, provided the victim interacts with malicious content such as a crafted document or web page. Successful exploitation grants full control over the affected process, enabling the attacker to execute arbitrary code with the same privileges as the Flash Player instance.

The vulnerability was actively exploited in the wild during January and February 2018, including in targeted campaigns attributed to Group 123 and large-scale malspam operations. Public references such as the Talos Intelligence report, Morphisec analysis, Red Hat RHSA-2018:0285, and vendor security trackers document these incidents and point to updated Flash Player releases as the primary remediation path.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

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.…

more

This was exploited in the wild in January and February 2018.

CWE(s)
CWE-416
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
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 →
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-2018-15982Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2016-7855Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2016-7892Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2015-5122Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2015-5123Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2016-0984Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2015-5119Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV
CVE-2026-5281Same product: Apple Macosboth on KEV
CVE-2026-2441Same product: Apple Macosboth on KEV
CVE-2015-0313Same product: Adobe Flash Playerboth on KEV

Affected Assets

adobe
flash player
≤ 28.0.0.161 · ≤ 28.0.0.161 · ≤ 28.0.0.161
redhat
enterprise linux desktop
6.0
redhat
enterprise linux server
6.0
redhat
enterprise linux workstation
6.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • 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.

SI-16 Memory Protection
addresses: CWE-416

Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.

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 SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

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 in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

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

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

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-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416

References