Adobe acknowledges critical remote vulnerability in Flash, exploits already in the wild

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AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2015
Adobe on Saturday released an updated version of its Flash player software that patches an undisclosed vulnerability which could allow remote attackers to take control of Macs or PCs, urging users to update as the problem is being actively exploited by malicious actors.




Flash versions up to and including 16.0.0.287 on OS X and Windows and 11.2.202.438 on Linux are susceptible to the attack, the cause of which has yet to be detailed. Mac users with Adobe's automatic update feature enabled should begin receiving updates to version 16.0.0.296 immediately, and the company is preparing a standalone patch for manual installation to be released this week. Adobe is also working with Google to update the embedded version of Flash included in the Chrome browser.

The vulnerability --?which has been assigned CVE number 2015-0311 --?is "being actively exploited in the wild via drive-by-download attacks against systems running Internet Explorer and Firefox on Windows 8.1 and below," Adobe said in a security advisory. A "drive-by-download" attack is one in which software is downloaded to a user's computer without their knowledge or explicit consent.

Adobe defines CVE-2015-0311 as "critical," meaning a "vulnerability, which, if exploited would allow malicious native-code to execute, potentially without a user being aware."

Users can check the version of Flash installed on their system by visiting Adobe's About Flash Player page or right-clicking on Flash content in their browser and choosing "About Adobe (or Macromedia) Flash Player" from the contextual menu. Instructions for enabling automatic updates or manually updating Flash can be found here.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 94
    sleakajsleakaj Posts: 32member
    Every single day, Flash becomes more and more irrelevant. I dumped Flash from my system some time ago and I'm better off.

    The death of Flash couldn't come soon enough.
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  • Reply 2 of 94
    monstrositymonstrosity Posts: 2,234member

    I wish Flash would just hurry up and die. I blame Google for it's continued existence.

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  • Reply 3 of 94
    pjwilkinpjwilkin Posts: 74member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by monstrosity View Post

     

    I wish Flash would just hurry up and die. I blame Google for it's continued existence.




    I blame Microsoft, especially as it's now a system component in Windows 8, 8.1 and 10

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  • Reply 4 of 94
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member
    Seriously? Wow what a weird decision. Love to read more about the subject.
    pjwilkin wrote: »

    I blame Microsoft, especially as it's now a system component in Windows 8, 8.1 and 10
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  • Reply 5 of 94
    pjwilkinpjwilkin Posts: 74member



    It's available via Windows Update on Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 

     

    EG from a quick google http://support2.microsoft.com/kb/2999249

     

    I can see why MS decided to ship it with Windows (so at least it gets patched), but they should have just let it die 

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  • Reply 6 of 94
    dugbugdugbug Posts: 283member
    Mine just updated to .296
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  • Reply 7 of 94
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    It's great that Adobe is patching these Flash issues so quickly but I know plenty of people that simply ignore them because it's a pain in the ass to have to update Flash so often. Unfortunately it can't happen in the background, like with Dropbox, and requires the user to kill their browsers to continue, which is where the basic user lives.

    monstrosity wrote: »
    I blame Google for it's continued existence.

    I put the blame on Adobe and "developers" that still push it to their sites. Even Apple used some Flash in MobileMe, but corrected that with their iCloud switch.
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  • Reply 8 of 94
    maccherrymaccherry Posts: 924member
    The fact that their product is even on the market sucks!
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  • Reply 9 of 94
    benjamin frostbenjamin frost Posts: 7,203member
    solipsismy wrote: »
    It's great that Adobe is patching these Flash issues so quickly but I know plenty of people that simply ignore them because it's a pain in the ass to have to update Flash so often. Unfortunately it can't happen in the background, like with Dropbox, and requires the user to kill their browsers to continue, which is where the basic user lives.

    monstrosity wrote: »
    I blame Google for it's continued existence.

    I put the blame on Adobe and "developers" that still push it to their sites. Even Apple used some Flash in MobileMe, but corrected that with their iCloud switch.

    All good points.

    I think BBC iPlayer still uses it for their video. Ever since Yosemite, the video freezes every minute or two for about a second. I don't know whether the blame lies with Flash, the BBC, Safari, Yosemite or my ageing iMac. I don't think it's my iMac, as video is smooth with DVDs and iTunes content.

    I hate Flash.
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  • Reply 10 of 94
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member

    I blame Obama.

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  • Reply 11 of 94
    nousernouser Posts: 65member

    I've been free of Flash for months and find that everything I need supports HTML5. Flash is now off my computers.  I don't understand why Adobe continues to pour development money into this POS.  Adobe's programmers could better spend their time working on their core apps. Flash has been the most patched and most vulnerable app I've ever encountered.  I sure don't miss these constant patches.

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  • Reply 12 of 94
    benjamin frostbenjamin frost Posts: 7,203member
    crowley wrote: »
    I blame Obama.

    Why?
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  • Reply 13 of 94
    singularitysingularity Posts: 1,328member
    benjamin frost wrote: »
    crowley wrote: »
    I blame Obama.

    Why?
    he is lampooning a type of righting American that will blame Obama for everything
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  • Reply 14 of 94
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    benjamin frost wrote: »
    All good points.

    I think BBC iPlayer still uses it for their video. Ever since Yosemite, the video freezes every minute or two for about a second. I don't know whether the blame lies with Flash, the BBC, Safari, Yosemite or my ageing iMac. I don't think it's my iMac, as video is smooth with DVDs and iTunes content.

    I hate Flash.

    The first troubleshooting step I'd do is see if it works fine in Chrome. if you are against a Google product in your user space then create a separate, basic account in which to test it. This is also a good way to see if it's potentially something with your user account, including corrupted PLIST files or a plug-in by also then testing it with Safari in that other, test account.
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  • Reply 15 of 94
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,351member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by singularity View Post





    he is lampooning a type of righting American that will blame Obama for everything



    try rightwing

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  • Reply 16 of 94
    singularitysingularity Posts: 1,328member
    rob53 wrote: »
    <div class="quote-container" data-huddler-embed="/t/184492/adobe-acknowledges-critical-remote-vulnerability-in-flash-exploits-already-in-the-wild#post_2666227" data-huddler-embed-placeholder="false">Quote:<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>singularity</strong> <a href="/t/184492/adobe-acknowledges-critical-remote-vulnerability-in-flash-exploits-already-in-the-wild#post_2666227"><img alt="View Post" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" /></a><br /><br /><br />he is lampooning a type of righting American that will blame Obama for everything</div></div><p><br />try rightwing</p>
    Autocorrect got me. :p
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  • Reply 17 of 94
    benjamin frostbenjamin frost Posts: 7,203member
    solipsismy wrote: »
    benjamin frost wrote: »
    All good points.

    I think BBC iPlayer still uses it for their video. Ever since Yosemite, the video freezes every minute or two for about a second. I don't know whether the blame lies with Flash, the BBC, Safari, Yosemite or my ageing iMac. I don't think it's my iMac, as video is smooth with DVDs and iTunes content.

    I hate Flash.

    The first troubleshooting step I'd do is see if it works fine in Chrome. if you are against a Google product in your user space then run create a separate, basic account in which to test it. This is also a good way to see if it's potentially something with your user account, including corrupted PLIST files or a plug-in by also then testing it with Safari in that other, test account.

    Thanks for the tip.
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  • Reply 18 of 94
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,351member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Benjamin Frost View Post





    All good points.



    I think BBC iPlayer still uses it for their video. Ever since Yosemite, the video freezes every minute or two for about a second. I don't know whether the blame lies with Flash, the BBC, Safari, Yosemite or my ageing iMac. I don't think it's my iMac, as video is smooth with DVDs and iTunes content.



    I hate Flash.



     
    Originally Posted by SolipsismY View Post





    The first troubleshooting step I'd do is see if it works fine in Chrome. if you are against a Google product in your user space then run create a separate, basic account in which to test it. This is also a good way to see if it's potentially something with your user account, including corrupted PLIST files or a plug-in by also then testing it with Safari in that other, test account.

    No, it's Flash. With Yosemite and a Flash blocker, I am seeing much more HTML5 videos pop up instead of Flash. I can use the developer setting and trick the site into thinking I'm using an iPad and HTML5 shows up. Try watching ESPN and just about every video sucks. Some of this is Flash, the rest is ESPN's servers. I'm still waiting for Netflix to drop Silverlight. Get rid of Flash and Silverlight and the world will be better off. As for using Google products, no thanks. Chrome will never touch my Macs. I'd rather use Opera on a Windows system. Even using Firefox on Windows causes problems for my in-laws with Netflix. Some add-on or default configuration causes it to not run Netflix. 

     

    Where was Google announcing these bugs before Adobe could fix them? I guess they gave up because Adobe sends out fixes every week. 

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  • Reply 19 of 94
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,351member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by singularity View Post





    Autocorrect got me. image



    there's nothing "correct" about being rightwing? ;)

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  • Reply 20 of 94
    waldobushmanwaldobushman Posts: 774member
    I went to the link recommended in this article which gives instructions on how to get automatic updates of flash. That adobe forum page tells me I'm running Flash 16.0.0.235, and I'm running Firefox on a Window 8 machine. Say what?

    My version is actually 16.0.0.287, running Safari on Mac OS X Yosemite 10.10.1

    So much for Adobe program quality.
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