CVE-2016-0988

Use-after-free vulnerability 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-2016-0987, CVE-2016-0990, CVE-2016-0991, CVE-2016-0994, CVE-2016-0995, CVE-2016-0996, CVE-2016-0997, CVE-2016-0998, CVE-2016-0999, and CVE-2016-1000.

Published: 2016-03-12 Last update: 2026-05-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2016-0988 is rated High Risk (67.6/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 7.51%, 92th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-0988

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-06 7.26% 7.51% +0.25%
2 2026-01-30 8.07% 7.26% -0.81%
3 2026-01-27 — 8.07% —

Full EPSS history (17 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-0988

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/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:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
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.
 8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-0988

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-0988

vendor priority summary link
gentoo normal CVE-2016-0988: 1 GLSA(s) (201603-07), 1 atom(s) (www-plugins/adobe-flash); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2016-0988
redhat critical — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-0988
ubuntu medium CVE-2016-0988 medium priority: Ubuntu including 2 source packages (adobe-flashplugin, flashplugin-nonfree), 8 status rows across 4 suites (precise, trusty, upstream, wily): released 7, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-0988

NVD evaluator notes for CVE-2016-0988

Comment: CWE-416: Use After Free

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-0988

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
adobe flash_player <= 20.0.0.306 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:*:chrome:*:*
adobe air <= 20.0.0.233 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe air_sdk <= 20.0.0.260 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air_sdk:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
samsung x14j_firmware t-ms14jakucb-1102.5 cpe:2.3:o:samsung:x14j_firmware:t-ms14jakucb-1102.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe flash_player <= 11.2.202.569 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe flash_player_desktop_runtime <= 20.2.2.306 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player_desktop_runtime:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe flash_player <= 20.0.0.306 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:*:edge:*:*
adobe flash_player <= 20.0.0.306 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:*:internet_explorer:*:*
adobe air_desktop_runtime <= 20.0.0.260 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air_desktop_runtime:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe air_sdk_\&_compiler <= 20.0.0.260 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air_sdk_\&_compiler:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-0988

URL Tags
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00022.html Broken Link Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00023.html Broken Link Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00024.html Broken Link Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00032.html Broken Link Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/84312 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035251 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb16-08.html Patch Vendor Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201603-07 Third Party Advisory
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