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Libevent CVE-2016-10197

HIGH
Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125)
2017-03-15 cve@mitre.org
7.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, read limits
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Collection

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. EPSS exploitation probability: 2.42%.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could read data from memory outside the intended buffer boundaries by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 2.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

The search_make_new function in evdns.c in libevent before 2.1.6-beta allows attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) via an empty hostname. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Validate array indices and buffer lengths. Use memory-safe languages. Enable AddressSanitizer during testing.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125), which allows attackers to read data from memory outside the intended buffer boundaries. The search_make_new function in evdns.c in libevent before 2.1.6-beta allows attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) via an empty hostname. Affected products include: Debian Debian Linux, Libevent Project Libevent. Version information: before 2.1.6.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

The search_make_new function in evdns.c in libevent before 2.1.6-beta allows attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) via an empty hostname.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
2.4%
Top 15% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 2.4%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

60
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +2
CVSS: +38
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:libevent_project:libevent:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2016-10195 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Mar 15

The name_parse function in evdns.c in libevent before 2.1.6-beta allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact via

CVE-2016-10196 HIGH POC
7.5 Mar 15

Stack-based buffer overflow in the evutil_parse_sockaddr_port function in evutil.c in libevent before 2.1.6-beta allows

CVE-2026-63382 CRITICAL
9.2 Aug 20

HTTP request smuggling in the libevent evhttp server (http.c) affects all versions prior to 2.1.13 and the 2.2.x-alpha l

CVE-2026-63384 HIGH
8.7 Aug 20

Integer overflow in Libevent's event tagging subsystem exposes any application using the evtag API to remote denial of s

CVE-2026-63383 HIGH
8.7 Aug 20

Out-of-bounds read in libevent's tagged RPC decoder crashes any application that decodes attacker-controlled tag data us

CVE-2026-63388 HIGH
8.4 Aug 20

Heap out-of-bounds write in libevent's bufferevent_sock.c allows any local peer connecting to an AF_UNIX evhttp listener

CVE-2014-6272 HIGH
7.5 Aug 24

Multiple integer overflows in the evbuffer API in Libevent 1.4.x before 1.4.15, 2.0.x before 2.0.22, and 2.1.x before 2.

CVE-2015-6525 HIGH
7.5 Aug 24

Multiple integer overflows in the evbuffer API in Libevent 2.0.x before 2.0.22 and 2.1.x before 2.1.5-beta allow context

CVE-2026-63495 HIGH
7.5 Aug 20

Memory exhaustion in libevent's WebSocket server (ws.c) allows unauthenticated remote clients to crash affected processe

CVE-2026-63387 HIGH
7.0 Aug 20

Off-by-one stack buffer overflow in Libevent's evdns component (versions prior to 2.1.13-stable and 2.2.2-alpha) enables

CVE-2026-63381 MEDIUM
5.8 Aug 20

Use-after-free memory corruption in libevent's evbuffer_add_buffer_reference (buffer.c) allows a caller that can drive a

CVE-2026-63380 MEDIUM
5.7 Aug 20

Use-after-free in libevent's WebSocket session initialization (ws.c) before version 2.2.2-alpha allows a local low-privi

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