How severe is CVE-2016-7118?

CVE-2016-7118 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-2016-7118 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (29th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-7118?

CVE-2016-7118 affects Debian Debian Linux. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-7118?

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

When was CVE-2016-7118 published?

CVE-2016-7118 was published on 2016-08-31 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-7118

CVE-2016-7118 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux 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: 4.9
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (29th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Debian Debian Linux
Published: 2016-08-31
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

fs/fcntl.c in the "aufs 3.2.x+setfl-debian" patch in the linux-image package 3.2.0-4 (kernel 3.2.81-1) in Debian wheezy mishandles F_SETFL fcntl calls on directories, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) via standard filesystem operations, as demonstrated by scp from an AUFS filesystem.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-7118?: fs/fcntl.c in the "aufs 3.2.x+setfl-debian" patch in the linux-image package 3.2.0-4 (kernel 3.2.81-1) in Debian wheezy mishandles F_SETFL fcntl calls on directories, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) via standard filesystem operations, as demonstrated by scp from an AUFS filesystem.
How severe is CVE-2016-7118?: CVE-2016-7118 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-2016-7118 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (29th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-7118?: CVE-2016-7118 affects Debian Debian Linux. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-7118?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2016-7118 published?: CVE-2016-7118 was published on 2016-08-31 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

CVE-2025-32433 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Erlang/OTP is a set of libraries for the Erlang programming language. Prior to versions OTP-27.3.3, OTP-26.2.5.11, and…
CVE-2025-24201 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved checks to prevent unauthorized actions. This issue is fixed in…
CVE-2024-42472 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Flatpak is a Linux application sandboxing and distribution framework. Prior to versions 1.14.0 and 1.15.10, a malicious…
CVE-2023-46604 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The Java OpenWire protocol marshaller is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution. This vulnerability may allow a remote…
CVE-2022-30123 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A sequence injection vulnerability exists in Rack <2.0.9.1, <2.1.4.1 and <2.2.3.1 which could allow is a possible shell…
CVE-2022-24884 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): ecdsautils is a tiny collection of programs used for ECDSA (keygen, sign, verify). `ecdsa_verify_[prepare_]legacy()`…

All CVEs affecting Debian Debian Linux →

Other CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities

CVE-2022-36648 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The hardware emulation in the of_dpa_cmd_add_l2_flood of rocker device model in QEMU, as used in 7.0.0 and earlier,…
CVE-2020-14500 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Secomea GateManager all versions prior to 9.2c, An attacker can send a negative value and overwrite arbitrary data.
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-2026-46195 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: validate dacloffset before building…
CVE-2026-31657 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: hold claim backbone gateways by…
CVE-2026-31436 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dmaengine: idxd: fix possible wrong descriptor…

Browse all CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities →