Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2016-4117

Flash Player

Adobe / Flash Player

Watch CVE-2016-4117 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 9.8 · Critical
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
94.4%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2016-4117 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Adobe Flash Player. Adobe Flash Player 21.0.0.226 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, as exploited in the...

Is it exploited?

Yes. Previdian tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed. Listed in CISA KEV. Also confirmed by third-party sources.

Who is affected?

Adobe / Flash Player.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player 21.0.0.226 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, as exploited in the wild in May 2016.

View vendor advisory (opens in new tab)
Published
11 May 2016
Exploitation Reported
03 Mar 2022
Attack vector
Remote
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None

Tags

cisa metasploit

CVE References

  • CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4117
  • GLSA-201606-08 security.gentoo.org · Vendor Advisory https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201606-08
  • openSUSE-SU-2016:1309 lists.opensuse.org · Vendor Advisory http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-05/msg00047...
  • SUSE-SU-2016:1305 lists.opensuse.org · Vendor Advisory http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-05/msg00044...
  • openSUSE-SU-2016:1306 lists.opensuse.org · Vendor Advisory http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-05/msg00045...
  • openSUSE-SU-2016:1308 lists.opensuse.org · Vendor Advisory http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-05/msg00046...
  • RHSA-2016:1079 rhn.redhat.com · Vendor Advisory http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-1079.html
  • 46339 exploit-db.com · Exploit https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46339/
  • 1035826 securitytracker.com · VDB Entry http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035826
  • 90505 securityfocus.com · VDB Entry http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/90505
  • helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb16-15.html helpx.adobe.com · CVE Record https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb16-15.html
  • helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsa16-02.html helpx.adobe.com · CVE Record https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsa16-02.html

Exploitation evidence

Why Previdian marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

CISA

Recorded 03 Mar 2022

A trusted third party reported exploitation.

Proof of concept available

GitHub

Recorded 23 Feb 2017

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
CISA First 2022-03-03 00:00 UTC
CVE 2026-09-10 04:01 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
User-Agents
Callback hosts
0
0
0

Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/osx/browser/adobe_flash_delete_range_tl_op.rb 28 Apr 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

9.8 Critical

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

94.4%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 9.8 Critical

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 10.0 High

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

adobe_flash_delete_range_tl_op

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2016-4117

46339

cve · Created Unknown

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. 04:01 UTC

    KEV confirmed by CVE

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  2. 15:02 UTC

    Metasploit module available

    Exploit module available

  3. 15:02 UTC

    Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  4. 00:00 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  5. 01:00 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  6. 00:00 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2016-4117

Free JSON includes basic KEV fields 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2016-4117",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 9.8,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.94354,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}