Adobe Flash Player and AIR Integer Overflow Remote Code Execution (RCE) Vulnerability (CVE-2015-8651)

1. Vulnerability Overview & Root Cause

This vulnerability (CVE-2015-8651) is an integer overflow vulnerability (CWE-190) existing within the Adobe Flash Player and AIR runtime engines. The root cause lies in the improper validation of input values (such as size or length fields within SWF tags) when allocating memory buffers. When processing a maliciously crafted SWF file, an integer overflow occurs during the buffer size calculation, leading to an undersized memory allocation and subsequent heap-based memory corruption or buffer overflow.

2. Exploitation Mechanics & Attack Scenario

An attacker exploits this vulnerability by hosting a malicious SWF file on a website or distributing it via phishing emails. When a victim visits the compromised page or opens the file using a vulnerable version of Flash Player, the engine parses the malformed structure. The integer overflow triggers memory corruption, allowing the attacker to bypass security mitigations (such as DEP/ASLR) through heap manipulation techniques, hijack the execution flow, and execute arbitrary shellcode with the privileges of the active user.

3. Infrastructure & Business Impact

As a CISA KEV-listed vulnerability, this flaw has been actively exploited in the wild by threat actors. Successful exploitation grants full control over the affected endpoint, potentially leading to lateral movement within the corporate network, sensitive data exfiltration, or ransomware deployment. This poses a severe risk to legacy environments and industrial control systems (ICS) that still rely on Flash-based management consoles.