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Linux Kernel CVE-2016-8655

HIGH
Race Condition (CWE-362)
2016-12-08 secalert@redhat.com
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Concurrency control, locking
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

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

Impact

CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. EPSS exploitation probability: 34.92%.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

Successful exploitation could compromise the high-severity affected system.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: HIGH severity + EPSS > 10%.
Patch available 34.9% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Race condition in net/packet/af_packet.c in the Linux kernel through 4.8.12 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (use-after-free) by leveraging the CAP_NET_RAW. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and EPSS exploitation probability 34.9%.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

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 under CWE-362. Race condition in net/packet/af_packet.c in the Linux kernel through 4.8.12 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (use-after-free) by leveraging the CAP_NET_RAW capability to change a socket version, related to the packet_set_ring and packet_setsockopt functions. Affected products include: Linux Linux Kernel, Canonical Ubuntu Linux. Version information: through 4.8.12.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

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

DescriptionCVE.org

Race condition in net/packet/af_packet.c in the Linux kernel through 4.8.12 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (use-after-free) by leveraging the CAP_NET_RAW capability to change a socket version, related to the packet_set_ring and packet_setsockopt functions.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Threat Score
4.1/10
Composite threat intelligence
EPSS Score
34.9%
Top 3% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

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 34.9%
Patch available Yes
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
HIGH severity + EPSS > 10%
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
Out-of-Cycle
Exploitation· derived
Active
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
High

Priority Score

109
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +35
CVSS: +39
PoC: +20
Weaponized: +15
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Race conditions occur when multiple concurrent requests exploit the brief time gap between checking a condition and acting upon it (TOCTOU - Time of Check, Time of Use).

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:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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References

Advisories & patches
PATCH http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=84ac7260236a49c79eede91617700174c2c19b0c PATCH https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/84ac7260236a49c79eede91617700174c2c19b0c REF http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-12/msg00044.html REF http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-12/msg00054.html REF http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-12/msg00055.html REF http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-12/msg00056.html REF http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-12/msg00067.html REF http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-12/msg00070.html REF http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-12/msg00073.html REF http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-12/msg00076.html REF http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-12/msg00077.html REF http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-12/msg00087.html REF http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/140063/Linux-Kernel-4.4.0-AF_PACKET-Race-Condition-Privilege-Escalation.html REF http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0386.html REF http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0387.html REF http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0402.html REF http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/12/06/1 REF http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94692 REF http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037403 REF http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037968 REF http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3149-1 REF http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3149-2 REF http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3150-1 REF http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3150-2 REF http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3151-1 REF http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3151-2 REF http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3151-3 REF http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3151-4 REF http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3152-1 REF http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3152-2 REF https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1400019 REF https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-03-01.html

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