CVE-2015-5119

CVE-2015-5119 is a software vulnerability, specifically a flaw in the design or implementation of Adobe Flash. This vulnerability was discovered as part of the Hacking Team data breach that took place in 2015. In this leak, internal data of the Italian cybersecurity firm Hacking Team was exposed, including the details of several undisclosed vulnerabilities. One of these was CVE-2015-5119, which was found to be a zero-day vulnerability, meaning it was unknown to those interested in its mitigation until it was discovered in the leak. Chinese Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups, notably APT17 also known as Tailgator Team or Deputy Dog, quickly capitalized on the leaked information. They are suspected of being backed by China and primarily target sectors such as the U.S. government, international law firms, and information technology companies. These groups conducted network intrusions against targeted organizations using the CVE-2015-5119 vulnerability. The speed with which they utilized this vulnerability demonstrates their agility and capability in exploiting newly discovered flaws for cyber espionage purposes. Another threat group, PLEAD, also exploited the CVE-2015-5119 vulnerability. They used it to create a fileless version of their malware, demonstrating a sophisticated approach to cyber-attacks. The rapid adoption of this zero-day vulnerability by multiple threat groups following the Hacking Team leak underscores the importance of swift vulnerability management and patching strategies in mitigating the risks posed by such security flaws.