Adobe Releases Emergency Flash Player Patch Against Ransomware Attack

Adobe this week issued a new emergency patch that addresses a critical vulnerability that is being exploited by hackers to spread ransomware. This exploit affects all operating systems including Windows, OS X, Linux, and ChromeOS.

The Cerber Ransomware is buried in ads on bad or malicious websites. If you click an infected ad, the ransomware will encrypt all of the data on your drive and demand up to $1,000 to get it back.

According to security firm TrendMicro:

Currently, all servers hosting these malvertisements are now inaccessible. Some reports mentioned that CERBER is being peddled in the Russian underground market as ransomware-as-service (RaaS). This not only proves the suggestion presented by the configuration file’s code above, but also confirms that we will be seeing more of CERBER in the near future.

Emergency Flash Player Patch for Adobe Flash

Here is the summary of this latest emergency patch according to Adobe’s security bulletin:

Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and ChromeOS.  These updates address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

Adobe is aware of reports that CVE-2016-1019 is being actively exploited on systems running Windows 10 and earlier with Flash Player version 20.0.0.306 and earlier.  Please refer to APSA16-01 for details.

To check the version of Flash that’s running on your computer, go to the About Flash Player page. And you can get the latest downloads at the Flash Player Download Center.

Another option that might be easier for you is head to the Adobe help page and follow the step-by-step instructions. Either way, remember to uncheck the special offers it tries to sneak on your system.

Yep. Not only is Flash riddled with security holes, but it also tries to sneak crapware on your system when trying to keep it updated.

More Ways to Protect Yourself from Adobe Flash Vulnerabilities

The best way to protect your system from these security threats is to uninstall Flash altogether. However, that’s just not a practical solution for millions of users.

There are ways to help protect yourself against Flash vulnerabilities that go beyond making sure it’s always up-to-date. For more tips for minimizing your risk when using Adobe Flash on your Mac or PC, check out our articles linked below.

• Protect Your Computer from Adobe Flash Exploits in Your Browser
• How to Protect Your Mac Against Adobe Flash Vulnerabilities