CVE-2016-7855 in Flash
Summary
by MITRE
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.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/04/2025
The CVE-2016-7855 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Adobe Flash Player that was actively exploited in October 2016, demonstrating the persistent threat landscape surrounding multimedia runtime environments. This vulnerability affects multiple operating system platforms including Windows, OS X, and Linux, with specific version restrictions indicating the targeted software components. The flaw manifests in the way Flash Player handles memory management during object lifecycle operations, creating opportunities for malicious actors to execute arbitrary code remotely. The vulnerability's exploitation requires no user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website, making it particularly dangerous for widespread deployment. The use-after-free condition occurs when the software continues to reference memory locations after they have been freed, potentially allowing attackers to manipulate the freed memory to execute malicious payloads. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-416, which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions in software development, representing one of the most common and dangerous classes of memory corruption vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-7855 extends far beyond simple code execution capabilities, as it provides attackers with a complete remote code execution vector that can be leveraged for various malicious activities including system compromise, data exfiltration, and persistent access. The vulnerability's exploitation in the wild during October 2016 demonstrates that attackers were actively targeting the Flash Player ecosystem, recognizing its widespread deployment across enterprise and consumer environments. The affected versions indicate that this vulnerability was present in relatively recent builds of Flash Player, suggesting that even users running updated software could remain vulnerable if they had not installed the specific patches released to address this issue. The cross-platform nature of the vulnerability means that organizations needed to implement comprehensive patch management strategies across all supported operating systems, highlighting the complexity of maintaining security posture across diverse computing environments.
Organizations affected by CVE-2016-7855 faced significant operational challenges that extended beyond immediate patch deployment, requiring comprehensive network monitoring and incident response procedures to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution demonstrates how attackers leveraged Flash Player weaknesses to achieve their objectives through legitimate software execution paths. Security teams needed to implement layered defenses including web application firewalls, browser hardening configurations, and network segmentation to protect against this and similar vulnerabilities. The exploitation pattern indicates that attackers were using sophisticated techniques to bypass traditional security controls, requiring advanced threat hunting capabilities and behavioral analysis to detect anomalous activity. Additionally, the vulnerability's presence in the wild during October 2016 coincided with broader trends in cybersecurity attacks targeting outdated software components, emphasizing the importance of maintaining current software inventories and implementing automated patch management systems. The incident highlighted the critical need for organizations to maintain awareness of their software inventory and the importance of rapid response to security advisories, particularly those affecting widely deployed software components like Adobe Flash Player that served as attack vectors for numerous other exploits.