How severe is CVE-2016-10243?

CVE-2016-10243 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-10243 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 7% (94th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-10243?

CVE-2016-10243 primarily affects Tug Tex Live. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-10243?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2016-10243 published?

CVE-2016-10243 was published on 2017-05-02 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-10243

CVE-2016-10243 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Tug Tex Live with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. 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-20.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 7.5
EPSS exploit prediction: 7% (94th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-20
Affected product: Tug Tex Live
Published: 2017-05-02
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

TeX Live allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands by leveraging inclusion of mpost in shell_escape_commands in the texmf.cnf config file.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-10243?: TeX Live allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands by leveraging inclusion of mpost in shell_escape_commands in the texmf.cnf config file.
How severe is CVE-2016-10243?: CVE-2016-10243 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2016-10243 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 7% (94th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-10243?: CVE-2016-10243 primarily affects Tug Tex Live. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-10243?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2016-10243 published?: CVE-2016-10243 was published on 2017-05-02 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (5)

cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:25:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:tug:tex_live:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Tug Tex Live

CVE-2017-17513 — High (CVSS 8.8): TeX Live through 20170524 does not validate strings before launching the program specified by the BROWSER environment…
CVE-2023-32700 — High (CVSS 7.8): LuaTeX before 1.17.0 allows execution of arbitrary shell commands when compiling a TeX file obtained from an untrusted…
CVE-2018-17407 — High (CVSS 7.8): An issue was discovered in t1_check_unusual_charstring functions in writet1.c files in TeX Live before 2018-09-21. A…
CVE-2010-1440 — Medium (CVSS 6.8): Multiple integer overflows in dvipsk/dospecial.c in dvips in TeX Live 2009 and earlier, and teTeX, allow remote…
CVE-2010-0827 — Medium (CVSS 6.8): Integer overflow in dvips in TeX Live 2009 and earlier, and teTeX, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service…
CVE-2010-0739 — Medium (CVSS 6.8): Integer overflow in the predospecial function in dospecial.c in dvips in (1) TeX Live and (2) teTeX might allow…

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