CVE-2012-1535 — Adobe Flash Player Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 11.3.300.271 on Windows and Mac OS X and before 11.2.202.238 on Linux allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via crafted SWF content, as exploited in the wild in August 2012 with SWF content in a Word document.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
- Public exploit/PoC (metasploit, exploitdb)+20
- EPSS 70.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
- Technical severity (high)+6
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
- Documented patch — www.adobe.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
CISA required action CISA
The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.
US federal deadline: Mar 24, 2022 — passed 1666 day(s) ago
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Adobe Flash Player, Opensuse Opensuse, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop…).
- Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
- Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
- Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
- EPSS ahead of 99% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (input validation), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe | Flash Player | < 11.3.300.271< 11.2.202.238 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Opensuse | Opensuse | version 11.4version 12.1 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Red Hat | Enterprise Linux Desktop | version 5.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Red Hat | Enterprise Linux Server | version 5.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Red Hat | Enterprise Linux Workstation | version 5.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| SUSE | Linux Enterprise Desktop | version 10-sp4 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 9.3 | CVSS 2.0 | High | 8.6 | 10.0 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
CISA KEV details CISA
CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.
CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.
Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates
Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.
- Adobe Flash Player 11.3 Kern Table Parsing Integer Overflow normal Aug 9, 2012
- Adobe Flash Player 11.3 - Font Parsing Code Execution (Metasploit) verified Aug 20, 2012
Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 70.38%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Hunt retroactively in logs from before Mar 3, 2022 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- Fix documented
- Affected products added · adobe/flash player, redhat/enterprise linux desktop, redhat/enterprise linux server, redhat/enterprise linux workstation
- CVSS changed · 7.8
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Added to CISA KEV (detected)
- Record created in this database
- 2022
- Added to CISA KEV catalog
- 2012
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
9 on the record
- www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb12-18.html
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-08/msg00010.html
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2012-08/msg00012.html
- marc.info/
- security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-201209-01.xml
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1535
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-5876-f5vv-fv9w
- rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2012-1203.html
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- High CVE-2026-31431 Linux Kernel Incorrect Resource Transfer Between Spheres Vulnerability KEV Apr 22, 2026
- High CVE-2025-32463 Sudo Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere Vulnerability KEV Jun 30, 2025
- High CVE-2025-6021 Libxml2: integer overflow in xmlbuildqname() leads to stack buffer overflow in libxml2 Jun 12, 2025
- High CVE-2024-12085 Rsync: info leak via uninitialized stack contents Jan 14, 2025
- High CVE-2024-1086 Linux Kernel Use-After-Free Vulnerability KEV Jan 31, 2024
- High CVE-2019-8720 WebKitGTK Memory Corruption Vulnerability KEV Mar 6, 2023
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2012-1535 is "Adobe Flash Player Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Flash Player (Adobe); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 70.38% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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