CVE-2016-1019

Exp

Adobe Flash Player 21.0.0.197 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, as exploited in the wild in April 2016.

Published: 2016-04-07 Last update: 2026-04-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2016-1019 is rated Critical Active Threat (97.2/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 56.70%, 98th percentile). Core evidence: CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-03-03) affecting Adobe / Flash Player. Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. Mandatory action: The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

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

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2016-1019

Name: Adobe Flash Player Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2022-03-03

Action due: 2022-03-24

Required action: The impacted product is end-of-life and should be disconnected if still in use.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-1019

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 2026-05-22 58.01% 56.70% -1.31%
2 2026-04-22 72.38% 58.01% -14.37%
3 2026-04-16 72.38%

Full EPSS history (39 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-1019

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/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]
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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.
1.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
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]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-1019

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-1019

vendor priority summary link
gentoo normal CVE-2016-1019: 1 GLSA(s) (201606-08), 1 atom(s) (www-plugins/adobe-flash); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2016-1019
redhat critical https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-1019
suse high https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-1019/
ubuntu medium CVE-2016-1019 medium priority: Ubuntu including 2 source packages (adobe-flashplugin, flashplugin-nonfree), 8 status rows across 4 suites (precise, trusty, upstream, wily): released 6, needs-triage 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-1019

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-1019

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
adobe flash_player_desktop_runtime <= 21.0.0.197 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player_desktop_runtime:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe flash_player <= 18.0.0.333 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:esr:*:*:*
adobe flash_player <= 21.0.0.197 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:*:chrome:*:*
adobe flash_player <= 21.0.0.197 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:*:edge:*:*
adobe flash_player <= 21.0.0.197 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:*:internet_explorer:*:*
adobe flash_player <= 11.2.202.577 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:flash_player:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe air_desktop_runtime <= 21.0.0.176 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air_desktop_runtime:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe air_sdk <= 21.0.0.176 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air_sdk:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe air_sdk_\&_compiler <= 21.0.0.176 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:air_sdk_\&_compiler:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-1019

URL Tags
http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/?p=1330 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00009.html Broken Link
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00010.html Broken Link
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00012.html Broken Link
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00055.html Broken Link
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-05/msg00044.html Broken Link
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-05/msg00045.html Broken Link
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-0610.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/85856 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035491 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-050 Patch Third Party Advisory Vendor Advisory
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsa16-01.html Vendor Advisory
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb16-10.html Vendor Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201606-08 Third Party Advisory
https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2016/04/cve-2016-1019_a_new.html Broken Link
https://github.com/cisagov/vulnrichment/issues/196 Issue Tracking
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2016-1019 US Government Resource
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