# CVE-2011-0609: Adobe Flash Player Unspecified

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via crafted Flash content in Adobe Flash Player and Reader.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 8 Jun 2022 (CISA KEV)
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Mar 2011
- **Updated:** 22 Oct 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g9g3-3gv9-454q, RHSA-2011:0372

## What is CVE-2011-0609?

CVE-2011-0609 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 15 Mar 2011. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

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.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-0609?

It affects 7 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `flash-plugin` | Red Hat:rhel_extras:5::client | All versions | 0:10.2.153.1-1.el5 |
| `flash-plugin` | Red Hat:rhel_extras:5::server | All versions | 0:10.2.153.1-1.el5 |
| `flash-plugin` | Red Hat:rhel_extras:6 | All versions | 0:10.2.153.1-1.el6 |

Products: Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Air, Adobe Flash Player, Google Chrome, Opensuse Opensuse, Suse Linux Enterprise.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-0609?

Apply the vendor's patch. US federal agencies must fix it by 22 Jun 2022.

## Is CVE-2011-0609 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2011-0609 in the wild since at least 8 Jun 2022.

Public exploit code:

- Adobe Flash Player AVM Bytecode Verification Vulnerability (metasploit)
- Adobe Flash Player - AVM Bytecode Verification (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Adobe Acrobat

- [CVE-2021-28550](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28550/): Adobe Acrobat and Reader Use-After-Free (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-21017](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21017/): Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-based Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2014-0546](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0546/): Adobe Reader and Acrobat Sandbox Bypass (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2014-0496](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0496/): Adobe Reader and Acrobat Use-After-Free (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-3346](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3346/): Adobe Reader and Acrobat Memory Corruption (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-0609 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-0609 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 15 Mar 2011. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2011-0609 in the wild since at least 8 Jun 2022.

Affected product: Adobe Acrobat. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0609/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0609/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-0609
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-0609
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-0609

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0609/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.