How severe is CVE-2016-2198?

CVE-2016-2198 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-2016-2198 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (34th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-2198?

CVE-2016-2198 primarily affects Qemu. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-2198?

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

When was CVE-2016-2198 published?

CVE-2016-2198 was published on 2016-12-29 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-2198

CVE-2016-2198 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Qemu 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-476.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
CVSS v2: 2.1
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (34th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Qemu
Published: 2016-12-29
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) built with the USB EHCI emulation support is vulnerable to a null pointer dereference flaw. It could occur when an application attempts to write to EHCI capabilities registers. A privileged user inside quest could use this flaw to crash the QEMU process instance resulting in DoS.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-2198?: QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) built with the USB EHCI emulation support is vulnerable to a null pointer dereference flaw. It could occur when an application attempts to write to EHCI capabilities registers. A privileged user inside quest could use this flaw to crash the QEMU process instance resulting in DoS.
How severe is CVE-2016-2198?: CVE-2016-2198 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-2016-2198 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (34th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-2198?: CVE-2016-2198 primarily affects Qemu. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-2198?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2016-2198 published?: CVE-2016-2198 was published on 2016-12-29 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (7)

cpe:2.3:a:qemu:qemu:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:qemu:qemu:2.6.0:rc0:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:qemu:qemu:2.6.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:qemu:qemu:2.6.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:qemu:qemu:2.6.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:qemu:qemu:2.6.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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