Microsoft Security
14 Costin Raiu, “CVE-2016-4171 – Adobe Flash Zero-day used in targeted attacks,” Securelist, June 14, 2016,…
5 passages name itOriginal (opens in a new tab) ↗
CVE-2016-4171 KEVEnd of life Critical · 9.8 EPSS 20.1%
Adobe Flash Player Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Adobe · Flash Player
End of lifeAdobe Flash Player reached End of lifeThe vendor no longer ships security fixes. Remove or isolate the product instead of waiting for a patch. on 31 Dec 2020. No patch is coming: remove or isolate it.
Summary
Adobe Flash Player, versions 21.0.0.242 and earlier, contains an unspecified flaw whose exact component is not identified in the available details. A remote attacker can execute arbitrary code on the affected system via unknown vectors, without needing network position, credentials, or user interaction beyond what the attack vector requires.
Official description · NVD
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.
Priority scorePatchfirst’s 0 to 100 ranking. It adds points for CISA KEV listing, ransomware use, EPSS, threat reports, public exploit code and CVSS. Every CVE page shows the breakdown. Breakdown
53.2 / 100
- Exploited
- Yes, in CISA KEV
- Reports
- 1
- Tactics
- 1/15
How an attack unfolds
Based on MITRE ATT&CKA public catalogue of the techniques attackers use, maintained by MITRE. Patchfirst uses it to describe what attackers do with a vulnerability. mappings. Select a step to see the evidence.Exploitation timelineDated milestones for a CVE: when it was disclosed, when exploit code became public, when exploitation was confirmed, and when threat reports named it.
First seen exploited 1 day before it was disclosed.
- First seen exploitedVulnCheck KEV evidence1 day before
- Disclosedday 0
- Added to CISA KEVEU database agrees+6 yrs
CISA KEV listing is when exploitation was confirmed, not necessarily the first attack.
MITRE ATT&CKA public catalogue of the techniques attackers use, maintained by MITRE. Patchfirst uses it to describe what attackers do with a vulnerability. techniques
1 TechniqueOne specific attacker behaviour in MITRE ATT&CK, such as T1190 “Exploit Public-Facing Application”. IDs with a dot, like T1059.004, are sub-techniques., grouped by TacticThe attacker’s goal at a stage of an attack in MITRE ATT&CK, such as Initial Access or Persistence. Each technique belongs to one or more tactics. in kill-chain order, 2 cited passages 1ExecutionTA0002
Command and Scripting Interpreter T1059 Medium Confidence (technique links)How sure Patchfirst is that an ATT&CK technique applies to this CVE. High and medium links are shown by default; low ones come from early or generic mappings, text matching, or contradict the CVE’s details.
AI mapping from the description · primary impact
Arbitrary code execution is the direct impact
allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code
Lower-confidence links (1)
These come from early or generic mappings, text matching, or contradict this CVE’s details (for example a public-facing technique on a bug that needs a user to open a file). Shown for completeness.
- Exploitation for Client ExecutionT1203 server-side bug exploitable without user interaction; client-execution technique does not fit
Detection
0 rules for this CVE · 95 general rules for its techniquesRules for this CVE
0Sigma ruleAn open, vendor-neutral detection rule for log data. Security teams convert Sigma rules into searches for their own SIEM. that reference CVE-2016-4171 directly.CVE-specific rules are not available in this build. Search SigmaHQ ↗
General rules for this CVE’s techniques
These detect the technique in general, not this specific vulnerability.
Command and Scripting InterpreterT105995 general rules
- HackTool - Sliver C2 Implant Activity Patterncriticaltest
- Lazarus Group Activitycriticaltest
- REvil Kaseya Incident Malware Patternscriticaltest
- Turla Group Lateral Movementcriticaltest
- Windows Defender AMSI Trigger Detectedhighstable
- Windows Defender Threat Detectedhighstable
- Abusable DLL Potential Sideloading From Suspicious Locationhightest
- Add Insecure Download Source To Wingethightest
Sigma rules © SigmaHQ, Detection Rule License 1.1; linked, not reproduced.
What security researchers reported
Named in 1 threat report1 reportMicrosoft
Reports are matched by finding the exact id CVE-2016-4171 in their text; nobody has reviewed the match. One passage is shown per report, at most 320 characters, linked to the original.
Also mentioned in 50 community threat pulses (AlienVault OTX)
Weaker evidencePulses are indicator collections that anyone can publish. A mention is not confirmation of exploitation.
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 202628 Oct 2026
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 202627 Oct 2026
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 202626 Oct 2026
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 202623 Oct 2026
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 202622 Oct 2026
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 202621 Oct 2026
- 44 more on OTX