How severe is CVE-2016-1238?

CVE-2016-1238 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-1238 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (51st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-1238?

CVE-2016-1238 primarily affects Debian Debian Linux. In total, 253 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-1238?

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

When was CVE-2016-1238 published?

CVE-2016-1238 was published on 2016-08-02 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-1238

CVE-2016-1238 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. 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-264.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.8)
CVSS v2: 7.2
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (51st percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-264
Affected product: Debian Debian Linux
Published: 2016-08-02
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

(1) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptar, (2) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptardiff, (3) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptargrep, (4) cpan/CPAN/scripts/cpan, (5) cpan/Digest-SHA/shasum, (6) cpan/Encode/bin/enc2xs, (7) cpan/Encode/bin/encguess, (8) cpan/Encode/bin/piconv, (9) cpan/Encode/bin/ucmlint, (10) cpan/Encode/bin/unidump, (11) cpan/ExtUtils-MakeMaker/bin/instmodsh, (12) cpan/IO-Compress/bin/zipdetails, (13) cpan/JSON-PP/bin/json_pp, (14) cpan/Test-Harness/bin/prove, (15) dist/ExtUtils-ParseXS/lib/ExtUtils/xsubpp, (16) dist/Module-CoreList/corelist, (17) ext/Pod-Html/bin/pod2html, (18) utils/c2ph.PL, (19) utils/h2ph.PL, (20) utils/h2xs.PL, (21) utils/libnetcfg.PL, (22) utils/perlbug.PL, (23) utils/perldoc.PL, (24) utils/perlivp.PL, and (25) utils/splain.PL in Perl 5.x before 5.22.3-RC2 and 5.24 before 5.24.1-RC2 do not properly remove . (period) characters from the end of the includes directory array, which might allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse module under the current working directory.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-1238?: (1) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptar, (2) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptardiff, (3) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptargrep, (4) cpan/CPAN/scripts/cpan, (5) cpan/Digest-SHA/shasum, (6) cpan/Encode/bin/enc2xs, (7) cpan/Encode/bin/encguess, (8) cpan/Encode/bin/piconv, (9) cpan/Encode/bin/ucmlint, (10) cpan/Encode/bin/unidump, (11) cpan/ExtUtils-MakeMaker/bin/instmodsh, (12) cpan/IO-Compress/bin/zipdetails, (13) cpan/JSON-PP/bin/json_pp, (14) cpan/Test-Harness/bin/prove, (15) dist/ExtUtils-ParseXS/lib/ExtUtils/xsubpp, (16) dist/Module-CoreList/corelist, (17) ext/Pod-Html/bin/pod2html, (18) utils/c2ph.PL, (19) utils/h2ph.PL, (20) utils/h2xs.PL, (21) utils/libnetcfg.PL, (22) utils/perlbug.PL, (23) utils/perldoc.PL, (24) utils/perlivp.PL, and (25) utils/splain.PL in Perl 5.x before 5.22.3-RC2 and 5.24 before 5.24.1-RC2 do not properly remove . (period) characters from the end of the includes directory array, which might allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse module under the current working directory.
How severe is CVE-2016-1238?: CVE-2016-1238 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2016-1238 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (51st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-1238?: CVE-2016-1238 primarily affects Debian Debian Linux. In total, 253 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-1238?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2016-1238 published?: CVE-2016-1238 was published on 2016-08-02 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (253)

cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:23:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:24:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:1.0.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:1.0.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.000:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.000o:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.001:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.001n:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.002:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.002_01:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_01:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_02:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_03:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_05:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_07:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_08:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_09:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_18:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_19:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_21:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_23:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_24:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_25:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_27:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_28:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_90:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Threat intelligence

Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE:

182.93.50.90 (ipv4-addr)
103.165.139.145 (ipv4-addr)
121.40.151.192 (ipv4-addr)
40.83.182.122 (ipv4-addr)