Adobe to Release Patch Addressing Critical Flash Vulnerability

Adobe is set to roll out a patch that will cover a fix on a critical Flash Player vulnerability that is currently being exploited in the wild. In a security advisory, the company notes, “A critical vulnerability (CVE-2016-4117) exists in Adobe Flash Player 21.0.0.226 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and Chrome OS.”

When exploited, the security hole could crash the system and even give access to an attacker in order to gain control of the infected machine. While no further information has been divulged on the details of the vulnerability, researchers note that there’s a possibility that this could be used in the propagation of cybercrime kits such as Angler—the brainchild of cybercriminals who are seeking new attack vectors of compromise such as Flash, Java, and Silverlight.

Further, the exploit in question could also be used in malvertising campaigns. This means that a user visiting a website injected with a poisoned ad could easily compromise a system, much like how online crooks behind Magnitude and Nuclear exploit kits succeeded in staging attacks involving zero-day vulnerabilities.

According to the advisory, the patch will address the vulnerability through Adobe’s monthly security update, which will be available "as early as May 12."