+44 1865 950 828 Secure Your Business
Actively exploited

CVE-2016-7855 Adobe Flash Player Use-After-Free Vulnerability

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player Windows and OS and Linux allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code.

From the CISA KEV catalogue version 2026.11.06, with Cybergen analysis. Updated 6 Nov 2026.

Our Assessment

Should You Worry?

Patch urgentlyCybergen assessment
  • CISA confirmed exploitation in the wild and added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 3 Mar 2022.
  • Rated High severity (CVSS 8.8, scored by CISA).
  • It has been in the catalogue for 1,709 days. Systems still unpatched now have almost certainly been scanned for it.
The Vulnerability

What It Is

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Flash Player before 23.0.0.205 on Windows and OS X and before 11.2.202.643 on Linux allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, as exploited in the wild in October 2016.

From Watch to Action

What To Do Now

  1. 1

    Find it

    Search your asset inventory and external attack surface for Adobe Flash Player. Include cloud images, appliances and anything a supplier runs for you.

    Attack Surface Management
  2. 2

    Fix it

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

    Vulnerability Management
  3. 3

    Hunt for compromise

    If an affected system was reachable before you patched, assume it may have been hit. Check logs, new accounts, web shells and outbound connections from the date of exposure.

    Incident Response
  4. 4

    Prove it is fixed

    Rescan or test the system after patching. Upgrades that fail silently and forgotten secondary instances are common.

    Penetration Testing

Vendor Advisories

Regulation

The Compliance Clock

Cyber EssentialsRated high, so if it affects devices in your Cyber Essentials scope, the update must be installed within 14 days of the vendor releasing it.NIS2If exploitation causes a significant incident, essential and important entities owe their CSIRT an early warning within 24 hours and a notification within 72 hours.DORAFinancial entities must classify ICT incidents and send an initial notification for a major incident within strict deadlines, with exploited flaws a common cause.US federal (BOD 22-01)Federal civilian agencies had until 24 Mar 2022 to remediate. A sensible benchmark for everyone else.

General guidance, not legal advice. Your obligations depend on your sector, scope and jurisdiction.

Stay Ahead

More Exploited Adobe Flaws

Get alerts for AdobeWe email you when a new Adobe vulnerability is confirmed as exploited. Add more vendors on Threat Watch.

By signing up you agree to receive Threat Watch alerts. Unsubscribe at any time. See our Privacy Policy.

CVE-2026-48356Adobe Commerce and Magento Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type VulnerabilityAdded 27 Oct 2026CVE-2026-71362Adobe Commerce and Magento Incorrect Authorization Vulnerability Added 24 Sep 2026CVE-2026-75650Adobe Commerce and Magento Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine VulnerabilityAdded 8 Sep 2026CVE-2026-48282Adobe ColdFusion Path Traversal VulnerabilityAdded 7 Jul 2026CVE-2009-3459Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow VulnerabilityAdded 20 May 2026CVE-2020-9715Adobe Acrobat Use-After-Free VulnerabilityAdded 13 Apr 2026

All 83 exploited Adobe vulnerabilities

Not Sure If You Are Exposed?

Our attack surface and vulnerability teams can check your internet-facing estate for CVE-2016-7855 and every other exploited flaw on the list.

Check My Exposure
Evidence

Sources

  1. CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue
  2. NVD: CVE-2016-7855
  3. CVE record: CVE-2016-7855
  4. FIRST EPSS
  5. security.gentoo.org/glsa/201610-10
  6. docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-128
  7. securitytracker.com/id/1037111
  8. helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb16-36.html
  9. rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2119.html
  10. security.googleblog.com/2016/10/disclosing-vulnerabilities-to-protect.html
  11. securityfocus.com/bid/93861