CVE-2016-4171 — Adobe Flash Player Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Triage

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

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.

Remediation

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

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

CISA required action CISA

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

US federal deadline: Apr 15, 2022 — passed 1644 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 Flash Player, Opensuse Opensuse, Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop…).
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. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
5. EPSS ahead of 97% 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.

Attack characteristics

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

Every base score collected

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

CISA KEV details CISA

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

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 20.06%

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 25, 2022 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

• 2026
• SSVC assessment updated
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• Record published
  Oct 13, 2026
• Affected products added · adobe/flash player, redhat/enterprise linux desktop, redhat/enterprise linux server, redhat/enterprise linux workstation
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• CVSS changed · 9.8
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Source status changed · → Analyzed
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• 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 24, 2022 · CISA
• 2016
• CVE published
  Jun 16, 2016 · adobe

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

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

References

12 on the record

• helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb16-18.html
  Vendor Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsa16-03.html
  Vendor Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
  US Government Resource, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.securitytracker.com/id/1036094
  Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, vdb-entry, x_refsource_SECTRACK, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-06/msg00031.html
  Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_SUSE, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• github.com/cisagov/vulnrichment/issues/196
  Issue Tracking, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/748992
  Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource, third-party-advisory, x_refsource_CERT-VN, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016:1238
  Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-06/msg00038.html
  Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_SUSE, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• security.gentoo.org/glsa/201606-08
  Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-06/msg00035.html
  Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_SUSE, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.securityfocus.com/bid/91184
  Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, vdb-entry, x_refsource_BID, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Related CVEs (same products)

• High CVE-2026-31431 Linux Kernel Incorrect Resource Transfer Between Spheres Vulnerability KEV Apr 22, 2026
• High CVE-2025-32463 Sudo Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere Vulnerability KEV Jun 30, 2025
• High CVE-2025-6021 Libxml2: integer overflow in xmlbuildqname() leads to stack buffer overflow in libxml2 Jun 12, 2025
• High CVE-2024-12085 Rsync: info leak via uninitialized stack contents Jan 14, 2025
• High CVE-2024-1086 Linux Kernel Use-After-Free Vulnerability KEV Jan 31, 2024
• High CVE-2019-8720 WebKitGTK Memory Corruption Vulnerability KEV Mar 6, 2023

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 fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
• 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-2016-4171 is "Adobe Flash Player Remote Code Execution Vulnerability", rated Critical. It affects Flash Player (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 20.06% 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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