CVSS 9.3 CRITICAL Bulletin: APSB14-14 Published: 2014-04-28

CVE-2014-0515: Adobe Flash Player Pixel Bender Shader Buffer Overflow

Technical intelligence and weaponization dossier for CVE-2014-0515. Documented exploitation across 3 active malware families totaling 1,773 analyzed telemetry samples.

Attributed Families

Sample Volume

1,773

CVSS Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Official NIST NVD

View NVD Record →

Vulnerability Specifications & Root Cause

Vulnerability ID	CVE-2014-0515
Common Name / Bulletin	Adobe Flash Player Pixel Bender Shader Buffer Overflow (`APSB14-14`)
CWE Classification	`CWE-119: Buffer Overflow`
Affected Software & Versions	Adobe Flash Player 13.0.0.182 and earlier
Technical Root Cause	Buffer overflow in the Pixel Bender shader compiler within Adobe Flash Player, exploited in the wild in Syrian government and international water-holing operations.
Associated ATT&CK Techniques	`T1189` — Associated ATT&CK Technique `T1204` — Associated ATT&CK Technique

Malware Families Weaponizing CVE-2014-0515

Empirical catalog telemetry verifies that the following 3 malware families weaponize this vulnerability for initial access, privilege escalation, or lateral movement:

3 families

Malware Family	Category	Catalog Samples	Operational Profile
tinba	Banking Trojan	`1,531`	Trojan:Win32/Tinba (short for 'Tiny Banker', also cataloged by vendors as Zusy) is a landmark banking trojan famous for its remarkably micro-sized footprint—com...
blackmoon	Banking Trojan	`228`	Trojan:Win32/Blackmoon (widely designated in cybersecurity research as KRBanker) is a destructive, regionally focused banking trojan that emerged in 2014, speci...
babar	Advanced Threat	`14`	Trojan:Win32/Babar is a highly sophisticated, nation-state cyber-espionage implant attributed by international intelligence agencies and cybersecurity researche...

Attributed Threat Actors & Syndicates

Threat intelligence confirms the following adversaries weaponize CVE-2014-0515 in enterprise intrusions and campaign toolkits:

Animal Farm APT — Attributed Threat Group / Campaign Operator
East Asian Cybercrime Syndicates — Attributed Threat Group / Campaign Operator
Eastern European Cybercrime Syndicates — Attributed Threat Group / Campaign Operator
KRBanker Operators — Attributed Threat Group / Campaign Operator

SOC Detection & Threat Hunting Guidance

Threat hunting leads and behavioral telemetry patterns to identify weaponized exploitation of CVE-2014-0515 in enterprise networks:

Suricata SID: 2018446 (ET EXPLOIT Adobe Flash Player Pixel Bender Buffer Overflow CVE-2014-0515).

Remediation & Defensive Hardening

SOC containment checklist and attack surface reduction measures to neutralize exploitation:

Actionable Guidance: Completely remove Adobe Flash Player; verify zero residual Flash active plugins in browser directories.

For end-to-end incident response procedures, consult our dedicated playbook: Active Incident Response Playbook →

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