CVE-2018-4878: Adobe Flash Player Use-After-Free Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 3 Nov 2021, 1,366 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 90.3%
EPSS score, percentile 99.8 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 7.8 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
CISA deadline 3 May 2022. The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected
- Adobe Flash Player before 28.0.0.161
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.
CISA due date for this action: 3 May 2022.
Advisories and patches
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
Affected products and versions
As listed in the CVE record.
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | Adobe Flash Player before 28.0.0.161 |
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
Adobe Flash Player contains a use-after-free vulnerability that could allow for code execution.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2018-4878 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 3 Nov 2021.
- CISA marks it as known to be used in ransomware campaigns.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 3 May 2022.
- The CVE record was published on 6 Feb 2018, 1,366 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 90.3% (percentile 99.8), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
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.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-416: Use After Free
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 6 Feb 2018 | CVE record published |
| 3 Nov 2021 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 3 May 2022 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 17 Nov 2025 | CVE record last updated |
References
- 44412
- 1040318
- 102893
- blog.talosintelligence.com
- threatpost.com
- helpx.adobe.com
- fireeye.com
- blog.morphisec.com
- darkreading.com
- github.com
- trendmicro.com
2 more in the CVE record.
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- CVE-2026-48356: Adobe Commerce and Magento Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-71362: Adobe Commerce and Magento Incorrect Authorization Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-75650: Adobe Commerce and Magento Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-48282: Adobe ColdFusion Path Traversal Vulnerability
- CVE-2009-3459: Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
- CVE-2020-9715: Adobe Acrobat Use-After-Free Vulnerability