CVE-2016-1010
CVE-2016-1010 is a security flaw in Adobe Flash Player and AIR, Adobe’s discontinued browser plug-in for animation and video. Attackers can run their own code on Adobe Flash Player and AIR. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 25 May 2022.[1]
Adobe Flash Player and AIR is in things households have, such as phones, computers, browsers and everyday apps, so the fix matters at home as much as at work. Adobe has published a fix or advice.
Description
CISA calls it an integer overflow in Adobe Flash Player and AIR. In its words: “Integer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player and AIR allows attackers to execute code.”[1]
The CVE record adds: “Integer overflow in Adobe Flash Player before 18.0.0.333 and 19.x through 21.x before 21.0.0.182 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.577 on Linux, Adobe AIR before 21.0.0.176, Adobe AIR SDK before 21.0.0.176, and Adobe AIR SDK & Compiler before 21.0.0.176 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0963 and CVE-2016-0993.”[2]
The underlying weakness is integer overflow (CWE-190), in MITRE’s list of common software weaknesses.
It scores 8.8 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it high, scored by NVD using CVSS 3.1.[2]
Affected versions
NVD’s record doesn’t list version ranges for it; Adobe’s advisory has them[3]. CISA names the product as Adobe Flash Player and AIR.
Every device with Adobe Flash Player and AIR needs the update.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 25 May 2022, 2,265 days after it was made public. CISA lists a flaw only when it has reliable evidence of it being exploited, and gave US federal agencies until 15 Jun 2022 to fix it.[1]
FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System, which estimates how likely a flaw is to be used in attacks in the next 30 days from what it sees across the internet, puts it at 19%. That’s in the top 3% of the flaws it scores.[4]
CISA assesses it as not automatable: each attack takes some work.
CISA doesn’t say who was attacked, or how.
Fix
Adobe has published a fix or advice.[3] CISA’s required action: “The impacted products are end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.”[1]
- Update Adobe Flash Player and AIR now.Install the latest update from Adobe on every device that has it, and restart when asked. Then turn on automatic updates, so the next fix arrives on its own.
- If there’s no update, stop using it.CISA’s advice when a flaw being used in attacks has no fix is to stop using the product until it does.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| The flaw is made public in the National Vulnerability Database, with a severity score of 8.8.[2] | |
| CISA adds it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks.[1] | |
| CISA’s deadline for US government agencies to fix it.[1] | |
| FIRST puts the odds of it being used in attacks in the next 30 days at 19%.[4] |
See also
Other Adobe Flash Player and AIR flaws
- CVE-2016-0984: use-after-free ·
Other Adobe flaws
- CVE-2026-48356, Adobe Commerce and Magento: unrestricted upload of file with dangerous type ·
- CVE-2026-71362, Adobe Commerce and Magento: incorrect authorization ·
- CVE-2026-75650, Adobe Commerce and Magento: improper neutralization of special elements used in a template engine ·
- CVE-2026-48282, Adobe ColdFusion: path traversal ·
- CVE-2009-3459, Adobe Acrobat and Reader: heap-based buffer overflow ·
Other integer overflow flaws
- CVE-2026-97229, GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition: integer overflow or wraparound ·
- CVE-2025-48595, Android Framework: integer overflow ·
- CVE-2021-30952, Apple devices: integer overflow or wraparound ·
- CVE-2026-21385, Qualcomm Multiple Chipsets: memory corruption ·
- CVE-2018-14634, Linux Kernel: integer overflow ·
Added the same day
- CVE-2019-3010, Oracle Solaris: privilege escalation ·
- CVE-2016-7256, Microsoft Windows: open type font remote code execution ·
- CVE-2016-3393, Microsoft Windows: graphics device interface (GDI) remote code execution ·
- CVE-2016-0984, Adobe Flash Player and AIR: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2016-0034, Microsoft Silverlight: runtime remote code execution ·
Every Adobe flaw on CISA’s list · Everything added in May 2022
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Adobe Flash Player and AIR Integer Overflow Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 25 May 2022.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2016-1010 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 12 Mar 2016.
- ^ Adobe. Advisories and fixes: helpx.adobe.com.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.193, percentile 97.3, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2016-1010”. The official CVE record.
This article is built from CISA’s catalog (version 2026.10.30), NVD’s record and FIRST’s scores, kept in HARD’s database and checked every morning. The plain English is HARD’s.