How severe is CVE-2017-16538?

CVE-2017-16538 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.6, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over physical access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2017-16538 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (32nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2017-16538?

CVE-2017-16538 affects Linux Linux Kernel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2017-16538?

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

When was CVE-2017-16538 published?

CVE-2017-16538 was published on 2017-11-04 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2017-16538

CVE-2017-16538 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.6. 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-20.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.6)
CVSS v2: 7.2
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (32nd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-20
Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
Published: 2017-11-04
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

drivers/media/usb/dvb-usb-v2/lmedm04.c in the Linux kernel through 4.13.11 allows local users to cause a denial of service (general protection fault and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted USB device, related to a missing warm-start check and incorrect attach timing (dm04_lme2510_frontend_attach versus dm04_lme2510_tuner).

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-16538?: drivers/media/usb/dvb-usb-v2/lmedm04.c in the Linux kernel through 4.13.11 allows local users to cause a denial of service (general protection fault and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted USB device, related to a missing warm-start check and incorrect attach timing (dm04_lme2510_frontend_attach versus dm04_lme2510_tuner).
How severe is CVE-2017-16538?: CVE-2017-16538 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.6, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over physical access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2017-16538 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (32nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2017-16538?: CVE-2017-16538 affects Linux Linux Kernel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2017-16538?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2017-16538 published?: CVE-2017-16538 was published on 2017-11-04 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-20 (Improper Input Validation) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-48316 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): ColdFusion versions 2025.9, 2023.20 and earlier are affected by an Improper Input Validation vulnerability that could…
CVE-2026-48281 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): ColdFusion versions 2025.9, 2023.20 and earlier are affected by an Improper Input Validation vulnerability that could…
CVE-2026-48277 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): ColdFusion versions 2025.9, 2023.20 and earlier are affected by an Improper Input Validation vulnerability that could…
CVE-2026-48055 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Streambert is a cross-platform Electron Desktop App to stream and download any video media. In versions 2.4.0 and…
CVE-2026-34910 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A malicious actor with access to the network could exploit an Improper Input Validation vulnerability found in UniFi OS…
CVE-2026-33587 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Lack of user input sanitisation in Open Notebook v1.8.3 allows the application user to execute Python code (and…

Browse all CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) vulnerabilities →