CVE Intelligence
CISA KEV Critical

CVE-2016-1019 — Adobe Flash Player Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability

Adobe Flash Player 21.0.0.197 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, as exploited in the wild in April 2016.

Published Apr 7, 2016 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, NIST National Vulnerability Database, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: adobe

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

How the score was calculated
  • Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
  • Used in ransomware campaigns (CISA)+10
  • EPSS 22.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
  • Technical severity (critical)+10

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Mar 3, 2022
EPSS FIRST
22.32%
ahead of 98% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Adobe
Air Desktop Runtime and 4 more
CVSS base
9.8
Critical · 4 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

CISA required action CISA

The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.

US federal deadline: Mar 24, 2022 — passed 1666 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Adobe Air Desktop Runtime, Adobe Air Sdk, Adobe Air Sdk & Compiler…).
  2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
  3. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  4. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  5. EPSS ahead of 98% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  6. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Adobe Air Desktop Runtime ≤ 21.0.0.176 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Adobe Air Sdk ≤ 21.0.0.176 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Adobe Air Sdk & Compiler ≤ 21.0.0.176 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Adobe Flash Player ≤ 18.0.0.333≤ 21.0.0.197≤ 11.2.202.577 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Adobe Flash Player Desktop Runtime ≤ 21.0.0.197 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
9.8 CVSS 3.1 Critical 3.9 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
9.8 CVSS 3.0 Critical — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
10.0 CVSS 2.0 High 10.0 10.0 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)
Scoring entities (NIST, CNA, ADP) score independently; each score is shown with its origin. For prioritization we use 9.8 (NVD (NIST)) as a conservative provisional reference — not a definitive official score.

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

Listed
Mar 3, 2022
Federal deadline
Mar 24, 2022
passed 1666 day(s) ago
Ransomware use
Known

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 22.32%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Hunt retroactively in logs from before Mar 3, 2022 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · adobe/flash player desktop runtime, adobe/flash player, adobe/air desktop runtime, adobe/air sdk, adobe/air sdk & compil
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 7.8 → 9.8
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · Published → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 7.8
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Source status changed · → Published
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Added to CISA KEV (detected)
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • 2022
  • Added to CISA KEV catalog
    Mar 2, 2022 · CISA
  • 2016
  • CVE published
    Apr 7, 2016 · adobe

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 3× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

19 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Adobe
every CVE for this vendor
2022-03
what else CISA listed that month

Related CVEs (same products)

  • High CVE-2018-15982 Adobe Flash Player Use-After-Free Vulnerability KEV Jan 18, 2019
  • High CVE-2018-5002 Adobe Flash Player Stack-based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability KEV Jul 9, 2018
  • High CVE-2018-4878 Adobe Flash Player Use-After-Free Vulnerability KEV Feb 6, 2018
  • High CVE-2017-11292 Adobe Flash Player Type Confusion Vulnerability KEV Oct 22, 2017
  • High CVE-2016-7892 Adobe Flash Player Use-After-Free Vulnerability KEV Dec 15, 2016
  • High CVE-2016-7855 Adobe Flash Player Use-After-Free Vulnerability KEV Nov 1, 2016

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No CWE classification.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2016-1019 is "Adobe Flash Player Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability", rated Critical. It affects Air Desktop Runtime (Adobe); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 9.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 22.32% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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