flash-plugin: use-after-free causing remote code execution (APSB18-03)
Published Feb 6, 2018 ·Due May 3, 2022
7.8
HIGHCVSS 3.1
EPSS 89.53%
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.
Affected products
- Vendor n/a Product Adobe Flash Player before 28.0.0.161 Defaultn/a
- Version Adobe Flash Player before 28.0.0.161StatusaffectedConstraints-
- Version
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n/a | Adobe Flash Player before 28.0.0.161 | n/a |
|
Configuration 1
- < 28.0.0.161
Configuration 2
- 6.0
- 6.0
- 6.0
Configuration 3
- < 28.0.0.161
- < 28.0.0.161
Running on/with
- n/a
- n/a
Configuration 4
- < 28.0.0.161
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Supplementary
flash-plugin-0:28.0.0.161-1.el6_9
Fixed · RHSA-2018:0285
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Supplementary | flash-plugin-0:28.0.0.161-1.el6_9 | Fixed | RHSA-2018:0285 |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Date Added
Nov 3, 2021
Patch Due
May 3, 2022
Required Action
The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.
CISA SSVC (Vulnrichment)
Stakeholder-Specific Vulnerability Categorization from CISA ADP.
Exploitation
ActiveAutomatable
NoTechnical Impact
TotalDecision
n/aAssessed Nov 17, 2025 · SSVC 2.0.3
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (24 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 89.53% (0.89532) | 99.78th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 89.62% (0.89618) | 99.77th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 93.33% (0.93326) | 99.81th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 97.25% (0.97245) | 99.88th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 23, 2024 | 97.21% (0.97210) | 99.83th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Apr 3, 2024 | 97.28% (0.97279) | 99.84th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Feb 22, 2024 | 97.34% (0.97341) | 99.88th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jan 17, 2024 | 97.32% (0.97325) | 99.87th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Sep 26, 2023 | 97.40% (0.97397) | 99.89th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Sep 5, 2023 | 97.42% (0.97420) | 99.89th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Sep 4, 2023 | 97.38% (0.97376) | 99.86th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Aug 9, 2023 | 97.42% (0.97420) | 99.89th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jul 21, 2023 | 97.44% (0.97442) | 99.91th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jul 8, 2023 | 97.47% (0.97468) | 99.93th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 8, 2023 | 97.28% (0.97275) | 99.76th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 8, 2023 | 97.26% (0.97263) | 99.73th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 1, 2023 | 97.49% (0.97490) | 99.95th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Apr 13, 2023 | 97.50% (0.97503) | 99.96th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 97.52% (0.97522) | 99.97th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 75.30% (0.75301) | 99.34th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 75.30% (0.75301) | 99.19th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 53.93% (0.53929) | 99.09th | v1 |
| Sep 1, 2021 | 53.93% (0.53929) | 99.69th | v1 |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 53.93% (0.53929) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (21)
- http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2018/02/group-123-goes-wild.html x_refsource_MISCTechnical DescriptionThird Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102893 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDBroken Link
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040318 vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKBroken Link
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0285 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATThird Party Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2018-4878 Vendor Advisory
- https://blog.morphisec.com/flash-exploit-cve-2018-4878-spotted-in-the-wild-massive-malspam-campaign x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1541981 Issue Tracking
- https://github.com/InQuest/malware-samples/tree/master/CVE-2018-4878-Adobe-Flash-DRM-UAF-0day x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory
- https://github.com/cisagov/vulnrichment/issues/196 issue-trackingIssue Tracking
- https://github.com/vysec/CVE-2018-4878 x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb18-03.html x_refsource_MISCVendor Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-4878
- https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/hackers-bypassed-adobe-flash-protection-mechanism/ x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party Advisory
- https://threatpost.com/adobe-flash-player-zero-day-spotted-in-the-wild/129742/ x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-4878 government-resourceThird Party AdvisoryUS Government Resource
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-4878
- https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/adobe-flash-vulnerability-reappears-in-malicious-word-files/d/d-id/1331139 x_refsource_MISCPress/Media CoverageThird Party Advisory
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44412/ exploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DBThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2018/02/attacks-leveraging-adobe-zero-day.html x_refsource_MISCThird 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-targets x_refsource_MISCTechnical DescriptionThird Party Advisory
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.