CVE-2016-4171
CVE-2016-4171 is a security flaw in Adobe Flash Player, Adobe’s discontinued browser plug-in for animation and video. Attackers can run their own code on Adobe Flash Player. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 25 Mar 2022.[1]
Adobe Flash Player 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 a remote code execution in Adobe Flash Player. In its words: “Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player allows for remote code execution.”[1]
The CVE record adds: “Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player 21.0.0.242 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors, as exploited in the wild in June 2016.”[2]
It scores 9.8 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it critical, 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.
Every device with Adobe Flash Player needs the update.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 25 Mar 2022, 2,108 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 Apr 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 20%. 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 product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.”[1]
- Update Adobe Flash Player 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 9.8.[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 20%.[4] |
See also
Other Adobe Flash Player flaws
- CVE-2014-0502: double free vulnerablity ·
- CVE-2014-0497: integer underflow vulnerablity ·
- CVE-2013-0648: code execution ·
- CVE-2013-0643: incorrect default permissions ·
- CVE-2012-5054: integer overflow ·
- CVE-2012-0767: cross-site scripting (XSS) ·
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 ·
Similar flaws
- CVE-2026-111357, Ivanti Connect Secure: missing authentication for critical function ·
- CVE-2026-97229, GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition: integer overflow or wraparound ·
- CVE-2026-76418, Cisco Secure Firewall ASA Software and Cisco Secure FTD Software: unchecked return value to NULL pointer dereference ·
- CVE-2026-111497, Google Brotli: unchecked return value ·
- CVE-2026-109619, PHP: stale internal request-state ·
Added the same day
- CVE-2022-26318, WatchGuard Firebox and XTM Appliances: arbitrary code execution ·
- CVE-2022-26143, Mitel MiCollab, MiVoice Business Express: access control ·
- CVE-2022-21999, Microsoft Windows: print spooler privilege escalation ·
- CVE-2021-42237, Sitecore XP: remote command execution ·
- CVE-2021-22941, Citrix ShareFile: improper access control ·
Every Adobe flaw on CISA’s list · Everything added in March 2022
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Adobe Flash Player Remote Code Execution Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 25 Mar 2022.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2016-4171 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 16 Jun 2016.
- ^ Adobe. Advisories and fixes: helpx.adobe.com, helpx.adobe.com.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.201, percentile 97.4, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2016-4171”. 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.