How severe is CVE-2015-8916?

CVE-2015-8916 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2015-8916 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (87th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2015-8916?

CVE-2015-8916 primarily affects Libarchive. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2015-8916?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2015-8916 published?

CVE-2015-8916 was published on 2016-09-20 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2015-8916

CVE-2015-8916 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Libarchive with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-476.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.5)
CVSS v2: 4.3
EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (87th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Libarchive
Published: 2016-09-20
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

bsdtar in libarchive before 3.2.0 returns a success code without filling the entry when the header is a "split file in multivolume RAR," which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) via a crafted rar file.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2015-8916?: bsdtar in libarchive before 3.2.0 returns a success code without filling the entry when the header is a "split file in multivolume RAR," which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) via a crafted rar file.
How severe is CVE-2015-8916?: CVE-2015-8916 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2015-8916 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (87th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2015-8916?: CVE-2015-8916 primarily affects Libarchive. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2015-8916?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2015-8916 published?: CVE-2015-8916 was published on 2016-09-20 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (7)

cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:15.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:libarchive:libarchive:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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All CVEs affecting Libarchive →

Other CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities

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CVE-2010-2495 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The pppol2tp_xmit function in drivers/net/pppol2tp.c in the L2TP implementation in the Linux kernel before 2.6.34 does…
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