How severe is CVE-2016-10723?

CVE-2016-10723 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-10723 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (30th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-10723?

CVE-2016-10723 affects Linux Linux Kernel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-10723?

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

When was CVE-2016-10723 published?

CVE-2016-10723 was published on 2018-06-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-10723

CVE-2016-10723 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. 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-399.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
CVSS v2: 4.9
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (30th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-399
Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
Published: 2018-06-21
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel through 4.17.2. Since the page allocator does not yield CPU resources to the owner of the oom_lock mutex, a local unprivileged user can trivially lock up the system forever by wasting CPU resources from the page allocator (e.g., via concurrent page fault events) when the global OOM killer is invoked. NOTE: the software maintainer has not accepted certain proposed patches, in part because of a viewpoint that "the underlying problem is non-trivial to handle.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-10723?: An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel through 4.17.2. Since the page allocator does not yield CPU resources to the owner of the oom_lock mutex, a local unprivileged user can trivially lock up the system forever by wasting CPU resources from the page allocator (e.g., via concurrent page fault events) when the global OOM killer is invoked. NOTE: the software maintainer has not accepted certain proposed patches, in part because of a viewpoint that "the underlying problem is non-trivial to handle.
How severe is CVE-2016-10723?: CVE-2016-10723 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2016-10723 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (30th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-10723?: CVE-2016-10723 affects Linux Linux Kernel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-10723?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2016-10723 published?: CVE-2016-10723 was published on 2018-06-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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