CVE-2016-0959 [Critical] | Use-After-Free in Flash Player

Use after free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player Desktop Runtime before 20.0.0.267, Adobe Flash Player Extended Support Release before 18.0.0.324, Adobe Flash Player for Google Chrome before 20.0.0.267, Adobe Flash Player for Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11 before 20.0.0.267, Adobe Flash Player for Internet Explorer 10 and 11 before 20.0.0.267, Adobe Flash Player for Linux before 11.2.202.559, AIR Desktop Runtime before 20.0.0.233, AIR SDK before 20.0.0.233, AIR SDK & Compiler before 20.0.0.233, AIR for Android before 20.0.0.233.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-05-09	0.98%	1.59%	+0.61%
2	2025-04-12	1.41%	0.98%	-0.43%
3	2025-03-30	—	1.41%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-05-09

0.98%

1.59%

+0.61%

2025-04-12

1.41%

0.98%

-0.43%

2025-03-30

—

1.41%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
9.8	3.0	CRITICAL	`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	3.9	5.9	[email protected]
10.0	2.0	HIGH	`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:L) Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:C) Complete confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:C) Complete integrity impact. Availability impact (A:C) Complete availability impact.	10.0	10.0	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

9.8

3.0

CRITICAL

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

3.9

5.9

[email protected]

10.0

2.0

HIGH

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L): Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C): Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C): Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C): Complete availability impact.

10.0

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-0959

vendor	priority	summary	link
`redhat`	critical	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-0959
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2016-0959 medium priority: Ubuntu including 2 source packages (adobe-flashplugin, flashplugin-nonfree), 10 status rows across 5 suites (trusty, upstream, xenial, yakkety, zesty): not-affected 6, released 4.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-0959

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-0959

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
adobe	flash_player	<= 20.0.0.235	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player::::::::
adobe	flash_player_extended_support_release	<= 18.0.0.268	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player_extended_support_release::::::::
adobe	flash_player	<= 20.0.0.228	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player::::::chrome::*
adobe	flash_player	<= 20.0.0.228	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player::::::edge::*
adobe	flash_player	<= 20.0.0.228	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player::::::internet_explorer::*
adobe	flash_player_for_linux	<= 11.2.202.554	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player_for_linux::::::::
adobe	air	<= 20.0.0.204	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air::::::::
adobe	air_sdk_\&_compiler	<= 20.0.0.204	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air_sdk_\&_compiler::::::::
adobe	air	<= 20.0.0.204	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air::::::android::*
adobe	air_sdk	<= 20.0.0.204	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air_sdk::::::::

References for CVE-2016-0959

URL	Tags
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2697.html
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1294580	Issue Tracking Third Party Advisory
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb16-01.html	Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2016-0959

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-0959

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-0959

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-0959

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-0959

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-0959

References for CVE-2016-0959