Summary:
This vulnerability affects: Adobe Flash Player 13.0.0.214 and earlier, running on all platforms (and Air)
How an attacker exploits it: By enticing users to visit a website containing malicious Flash content
Impact: In the worst case, an attacker can execute code on the user's computer, potentially gaining control of it
What to do: Download and install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player (version 14.0.0.125 for computers)
Exposure:
Adobe Flash Player displays interactive, animated web content called Flash. Although Flash is optional, 99% of PC users download and install it to view multimedia web content. It runs on many operating systems, including mobile operating systems like Android.
In a security bulletin released today, Adobe announced a patch that fixes six critical vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player 13.0.0.214 and earlier, running on all platforms.
The six vulnerabilities differ technically, and in scope and impact, but one flaw stands out as the worst. Specifically, Flash Player suffers from an unspecified memory corruption vulnerability that attackers could exploit to execute arbitrary code. Adobe doesn't share the details, but we assume if an attacker can entice you to a site containing maliciously crafted Flash content, he could exploit this flaw to execute any code with your privileges. If you are a local administrator, or have root access, the attacker gains complete control of your computer. The remaining flaws include three cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities and two unspecified security bypass flaws.
Adobe rates these issues as a "Priority 1" issue for Windows and Mac, and recommend you apply the updates as soon as possible (within 72 hours). However, the vulnerability technically affects other platforms as well, so I recommend you update any Flash capable device as soon as you can.
Solution Path
Adobe has released new versions of Flash Player (14.0.0.125 for computers) to fix these issues. If you allow Adobe Flash in your network, you should download and install the new versions immediately. If you've enabled Flash Player's recent "silent update" option, you will receive this update automatically.
Download Flash Player for your computer:
