CVE-2011-0609
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player 10.2.154.13 and earlier on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris; 10.1.106.16 and earlier on Android; Adobe AIR 2.5.1 and earlier; and Authplay.dll (aka AuthPlayLib.bundle) in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x through 9.4.2 and 10.x through 10.0.1 on Windows and Mac OS X, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via crafted Flash content, as demonstrated by a .swf file embedded in an Excel spreadsheet, and as exploited in the wild in March 2011.
- CVSS
- 7.8Highscored by CISA
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, in CISA KEV since 8 Jun 2022CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 22 Jun 2022public exploit code
- EPSS
- 63.5%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.8% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 15 Mar 2011analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Do first. The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)
Summary
Triage
- Exploitable
- At runtime
- Attack vector
- local
- Can a WAF block it?
- No. See why
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
Products named in our analysis
- adobe:flash_player
- adobe:acrobat
- adobe:acrobat_reader
- adobe:air
- opensuse:opensuse
- suse:linux_enterprise
- google:chrome
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? No. The attack needs local access to the machine, so a WAF is not on its path.
Also consider: patch
Based on the attack vector (local or physical access). We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Listed since 8 Jun 2022.
- CISA due date
- 22 Jun 2022, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
- CISA required action
- The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.
- Public exploit code
- Yes: 1 on Exploit-DB · 1 Metasploit module
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 4 Feb 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
Exploit-DB
- Adobe Flash Player - AVM Bytecode Verification (Metasploit)remote, 23 Mar 2011, verified by Exploit-DB
Metasploit
- exploit/windows/browser/adobe_flashplayer_avmexploit, rank good
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 15 Mar 2011Published
- 23 Mar 2011First public exploit or proof of concept7 days later
- 8 Jun 2022Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)4,095 days (about 11 years) later
- 22 Jun 2022CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)14 days later
- 4 Feb 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active959 days (about 3 years) later
- 22 Oct 2025CVE record last updated259 days (about 9 months) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com387 days (about 1 year) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | LocalLocal access required (shell, logged-in user). | Local access required (shell, logged-in user). |
| Attack complexity | LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions. | Repeatable attack, no special conditions. |
| Privileges required | NoneThe attacker needs no prior access. | The attacker needs no prior access. |
| User interaction | RequiredA victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate. | A victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | HighFull outage possible. | Full outage possible. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2011-0609 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2011-0609 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2011-0609?
CVE-2011-0609 is rated High with a CVSS score of 7.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2011-0609?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2011-0609. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2011-0609 affect?
CVE-2011-0609 affects adobe:flash_player, adobe:acrobat, adobe:acrobat_reader, adobe:air, and 3 further products or versions. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
23 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Advisories (8)
- secunia.com /advisories/43751
- lists.opensuse.org /opensuse-security-announce/2011-04/msg00000.html
- secunia.com /advisories/43856
- kb.cert.org /vuls/id/192052
- secunia.com /advisories/43772
- securityreason.com /securityalert/8152
Show 2 more
- redhat.com /support/errata/RHSA-2011-0372.html
- secunia.com /advisories/43757
Other links (15)
- securityfocus.com /bid/46860
- googlechromereleases.blogspot.com /2011/03/stable-and-beta-channel-updates_15.html
- vupen.com /english/advisories/2011/0732
- adobe.com /support/security/advisories/apsa11-01.html
- oval.cisecurity.org /repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A14147
- vupen.com /english/advisories/2011/0656
Show 9 more
- securitytracker.com /id?1025211
- exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com /vulnerabilities/66078
- vupen.com /english/advisories/2011/0655
- securitytracker.com /id?1025210
- adobe.com /support/security/bulletins/apsb11-06.html
- securitytracker.com /id?1025238
- blogs.adobe.com /asset/2011/03/background-on-apsa11-01-patch-schedule.html
- vupen.com /english/advisories/2011/0688
- cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2011-0609
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Exploit-DB: published exploits
- Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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