How severe is CVE-2016-8641?

CVE-2016-8641 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.7, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-8641 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (63rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-8641?

CVE-2016-8641 primarily affects Nagios. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-8641?

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

When was CVE-2016-8641 published?

CVE-2016-8641 was published on 2018-08-01 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-8641

CVE-2016-8641 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Nagios with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.7. 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-59.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.7)
CVSS v2: 7.2
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (63rd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-59
Affected product: Nagios
Published: 2018-08-01
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A privilege escalation vulnerability was found in nagios 4.2.x that occurs in daemon-init.in when creating necessary files and insecurely changing the ownership afterwards. It's possible for the local attacker to create symbolic links before the files are to be created and possibly escalating the privileges with the ownership change.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-8641?: A privilege escalation vulnerability was found in nagios 4.2.x that occurs in daemon-init.in when creating necessary files and insecurely changing the ownership afterwards. It's possible for the local attacker to create symbolic links before the files are to be created and possibly escalating the privileges with the ownership change.
How severe is CVE-2016-8641?: CVE-2016-8641 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.7, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2016-8641 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (63rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-8641?: CVE-2016-8641 primarily affects Nagios. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-8641?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2016-8641 published?: CVE-2016-8641 was published on 2018-08-01 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (4)

cpe:2.3:a:nagios:nagios:4.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:nagios:nagios:4.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:nagios:nagios:4.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:nagios:nagios:4.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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