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Unrated severityNVD Advisory· Published Oct 19, 2010· Updated Apr 29, 2026

CVE-2010-3976

CVE-2010-3976

Description

Untrusted search path vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 9.0.289.0 and 10.x before 10.1.102.64 on Windows allows local users, and possibly remote attackers, to execute arbitrary code and conduct DLL hijacking attacks via a Trojan horse dwmapi.dll that is located in the same folder as a file that is processed by Flash Player.

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

Untrusted search path vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player on Windows allows DLL hijacking via dwmapi.dll, leading to arbitrary code execution.

Vulnerability

Adobe Flash Player versions before 9.0.289.0 and 10.x before 10.1.102.64 on Windows contain an untrusted search path vulnerability. The application loads the dwmapi.dll library using an insufficiently qualified path, allowing a malicious DLL placed in the same folder as a file processed by Flash Player to be loaded instead of the legitimate system DLL [2].

Exploitation

An attacker can exploit this by placing a malicious dwmapi.dll in a location where Flash Player will load it, such as the user's Desktop or the folder containing a file processed by Flash Player. The user must be tricked into saving the malicious DLL to that location, for example via a download. When the user subsequently opens a Flash file from that folder, the DLL is loaded and executed [2]. Remote attackers could potentially combine this with other techniques to deliver the DLL.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the user running Flash Player. The attacker gains the same privileges as the user, potentially leading to full system compromise [2].

Mitigation

Adobe released fixed versions: Flash Player 9.0.289.0 and 10.1.102.64. Users should upgrade to these versions or later [3]. No workaround is available for unpatched versions. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of the publication date.

References
  1. http://core.yehg.net/lab/pr0js/advisories/dll_hijacking/%5Bflash_player%5D_10.1.x_insecure_dll_hijacking_%28dwmapi.dll%29
  2. Multiple vulnerabilities (GLSA 201101-09) — Gentoo security

AI Insight generated on May 23, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

41
  • Adobe Inc./Flashplayer40 versions
    cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*+ 39 more
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*range: <=9.0.277.0
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.0.0.584:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.0.12.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.0.12.36:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.0.15.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.0.22.87:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.0.32.18:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.0.42.34:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.0.45.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.1.52.14.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.1.52.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.1.53.64:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.1.82.76:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.1.85.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.1.92.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.1.95.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:10.1.95.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.112.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.114.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.115.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.124.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.125.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.151.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.152.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.155.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.159.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.18d60:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.20.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.246.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.260.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.262.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.28:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.28.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.31:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.31.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.45.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.47.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:9.0.48.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • Adobe Inc./Flash Playerllm-fuzzy
    Range: < 9.0.289.0 or >= 10.0 < 10.1.102.64 on Windows

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

AI mechanics synthesis has not run for this CVE yet.

References

15

News mentions

0

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