How severe is CVE-2016-6516?

CVE-2016-6516 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.4, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-6516 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (57th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-6516?

CVE-2016-6516 affects Linux Linux Kernel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-6516?

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-2016-6516 published?

CVE-2016-6516 was published on 2016-08-06 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-6516

CVE-2016-6516 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.4. 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-119.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.4)
CVSS v2: 4.4
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (57th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-119
Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
Published: 2016-08-06
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Race condition in the ioctl_file_dedupe_range function in fs/ioctl.c in the Linux kernel through 4.7 allows local users to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) or possibly gain privileges by changing a certain count value, aka a "double fetch" vulnerability.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-6516?: Race condition in the ioctl_file_dedupe_range function in fs/ioctl.c in the Linux kernel through 4.7 allows local users to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) or possibly gain privileges by changing a certain count value, aka a "double fetch" vulnerability.
How severe is CVE-2016-6516?: CVE-2016-6516 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.4, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2016-6516 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (57th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-6516?: CVE-2016-6516 affects Linux Linux Kernel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-6516?: 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-2016-6516 published?: CVE-2016-6516 was published on 2016-08-06 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

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

More vulnerabilities in Linux Linux Kernel

CVE-2023-2163 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Incorrect verifier pruning in BPF in Linux Kernel >=5.4 leads to unsafe code paths being incorrectly marked as safe,…
CVE-2015-8104 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The KVM subsystem in the Linux kernel through 4.2.6, and Xen 4.3.x through 4.6.x, allows guest OS users to cause a…
CVE-2015-1421 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Use-after-free vulnerability in the sctp_assoc_update function in net/sctp/associola.c in the Linux kernel before…
CVE-2014-2523 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_proto_dccp.c in the Linux kernel through 3.13.6 uses a DCCP header pointer incorrectly,…
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…
CVE-2010-2521 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Multiple buffer overflows in fs/nfsd/nfs4xdr.c in the XDR implementation in the NFS server in the Linux kernel before…

All CVEs affecting Linux Linux Kernel →

Other CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-2778 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Sandbox escape due to incorrect boundary conditions in the DOM: Core & HTML component. This vulnerability was fixed in…
CVE-2026-2776 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Sandbox escape due to incorrect boundary conditions in the Telemetry component in External Software. This vulnerability…
CVE-2025-1866 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer vulnerability in warmcat libwebsockets allows…
CVE-2022-27625 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability regarding improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer is found in the…
CVE-2022-27624 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A vulnerability regarding improper restriction of operations within the bounds of a memory buffer is found in the…
CVE-2020-11896 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The Treck TCP/IP stack before 6.0.1.66 allows Remote Code Execution, related to IPv4 tunneling.

Browse all CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer) vulnerabilities →