Threats / Adobe / CVE-2014-9163
CVE-2014-9163
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Adobe Flash Player vulnerability
Stack-based buffer overflow in Adobe Flash Player enables remote code execution. The vulnerability has been exploited in the wild.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A stack buffer overflow in Flash Player permits unauthenticated remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution on affected systems. Active exploitation in the wild indicates immediate risk to deployed instances.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-04-134EPSS 0.20356 (verify live)5CVSS 7.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
5 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-04-13).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.20356 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Adobe, Flash Player. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 2681 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious Flash file or web page containing specially crafted input that overflows the stack buffer.
Business
Users visiting compromised or attacker-controlled websites face immediate code execution risk without user interaction beyond normal browsing.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I deliver the exploit payload through email attachments, drive-by downloads, or embedded content on compromised legitimate sites.
Business
Enterprise endpoints running Flash Player become entry points for malware installation, data exfiltration, and lateral network movement.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the Flash Player process to install backdoors or steal credentials.
Business
Attackers gain persistent access to systems and can pivot to critical infrastructure, resulting in data breaches and operational disruption.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05