CVE-2014-8439
CVE-2014-8439 is a security flaw in Adobe Flash Player, Adobe’s discontinued browser plug-in for animation and video. Attackers can run their own code on Adobe Flash Player. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 25 May 2022.[1]
Adobe Flash Player is in things households have, such as phones, computers, browsers and everyday apps, so the fix matters at home as much as at work.
Description
CISA calls it a dereferenced pointer in Adobe Flash Player. In its words: “Adobe Flash Player has a vulnerability in the way it handles a dereferenced memory pointer which could lead to code execution.”[1]
The CVE record adds: “Adobe Flash Player before 13.0.0.258 and 14.x and 15.x before 15.0.0.239 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.424 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 15.0.0.293, Adobe AIR SDK before 15.0.0.302, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 15.0.0.302 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (invalid pointer dereference) via unspecified vectors.”[2]
The underlying weakness is memory buffer error (CWE-119), in MITRE’s list of common software weaknesses.
It scores 8.8 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it high, scored by the organisation that published the CVE using CVSS 3.1.[2]
Affected versions
NVD’s record doesn’t list version ranges for it. CISA names the product as Adobe Flash Player.
Every device with Adobe Flash Player needs the update.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 25 May 2022, 2,738 days after it was made public. CISA lists a flaw only when it has reliable evidence of it being exploited, and gave US federal agencies until 15 Jun 2022 to fix it.[1]
FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System, which estimates how likely a flaw is to be used in attacks in the next 30 days from what it sees across the internet, puts it at 20%. That’s in the top 3% of the flaws it scores.[3]
CISA assesses it as not automatable: each attack takes some work.
CISA doesn’t say who was attacked, or how.
Fix
CISA’s required action: “The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.”[1]
- Update Adobe Flash Player now.Install the latest update from Adobe on every device that has it, and restart when asked. Then turn on automatic updates, so the next fix arrives on its own.
- If there’s no update, stop using it.CISA’s advice when a flaw being used in attacks has no fix is to stop using the product until it does.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| The flaw is made public in the National Vulnerability Database, with a severity score of 8.8.[2] | |
| CISA adds it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks.[1] | |
| CISA’s deadline for US government agencies to fix it.[1] | |
| FIRST puts the odds of it being used in attacks in the next 30 days at 20%.[3] |
See also
Other Adobe Flash Player flaws
- CVE-2014-0502: double free vulnerablity ·
- CVE-2014-0497: integer underflow vulnerablity ·
- CVE-2013-0648: code execution ·
- CVE-2013-0643: incorrect default permissions ·
- CVE-2012-5054: integer overflow ·
- CVE-2012-0767: cross-site scripting (XSS) ·
Other Adobe flaws
- CVE-2026-48356, Adobe Commerce and Magento: unrestricted upload of file with dangerous type ·
- CVE-2026-71362, Adobe Commerce and Magento: incorrect authorization ·
- CVE-2026-75650, Adobe Commerce and Magento: improper neutralization of special elements used in a template engine ·
- CVE-2026-48282, Adobe ColdFusion: path traversal ·
- CVE-2009-3459, Adobe Acrobat and Reader: heap-based buffer overflow ·
Other memory buffer error flaws
- CVE-2026-88779, Citrix NetScaler: improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer ·
- CVE-2026-88772, Citrix NetScaler: improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer ·
- CVE-2026-88771, Citrix NetScaler: improper input validation ·
- CVE-2026-8452, Citrix NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway: improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer ·
- CVE-2025-31277, Apple devices: buffer overflow ·
Added the same day
- CVE-2019-3010, Oracle Solaris: privilege escalation ·
- CVE-2016-7256, Microsoft Windows: open type font remote code execution ·
- CVE-2016-3393, Microsoft Windows: graphics device interface (GDI) remote code execution ·
- CVE-2016-1010, Adobe Flash Player and AIR: integer overflow ·
- CVE-2016-0984, Adobe Flash Player and AIR: use-after-free ·
Every Adobe flaw on CISA’s list · Everything added in May 2022
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Adobe Flash Player Dereferenced Pointer Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 25 May 2022.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2014-8439 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 25 Nov 2014.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.204, percentile 97.5, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2014-8439”. The official CVE record.
This article is built from CISA’s catalog (version 2026.10.30), NVD’s record and FIRST’s scores, kept in HARD’s database and checked every morning. The plain English is HARD’s.