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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2016-0774

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-04-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.0.1 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The (1) pipe_read and (2) pipe_write implementations in fs/pipe.c in a certain Linux kernel backport in the linux package before 3.2.73-2+deb7u3 on Debian wheezy and the kernel package before 3.10.0-229.26.2 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.1 do not properly consider the side effects of failed __copy_to_user_inatomic and __copy_from_user_inatomic calls, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly gain privileges via a crafted application, aka an "I/O vector array overrun." NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incorrect fix for CVE-2015-1805.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A vulnerability in the pipe_read and pipe_write functions in fs/pipe.c in Linux kernels (Debian wheezy before 3.2.73-2+deb7u3, RHEL 7.1 before 3.10.0-229.26.2) fails to properly handle the side effects when __copy_to_user_inatomic or __copy_from_user_inatomic calls fail, leading to an I/O vector array overrun that can be exploited by a local attacker to cause kernel panic or potentially escalate privileges.

MitigationApply the corresponding kernel security update to the affected Debian or RHEL systems and schedule a system reboot to load the patched kernel. Alternatively, upgrade to a kernel version that contains the corrected fix for this vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:all versions
AndroidOperating system
Affected:<= 6.0.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Linux kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or check '/proc/version' to get the running kernel version. For Debian, compare to 3.2.73-2+deb7u3 or later for wheezy. For RHEL 7, compare to 3.10.0-229.26.2 or later. For other distributions, check if the kernel version is older than the patched version that includes the fix for this CVE.
    Affected if The kernel version is older than the patched version for your distribution and the system allows local user access.
  2. Check Android version
    On Android devices, go to Settings > About Phone to check the Android version number.
    Affected if The Android version is 6.0.1 or earlier.
  3. Verify pipe subsystem is in use
    Check if the system uses named or unnamed pipes by examining /proc/sys/fs/pipe-max-size and looking for pipe-related activity with 'ls -la /dev/fd/' or 'lsof | grep pipe'. This is a fundamental Linux feature that is typically enabled by default.
    Affected if The system uses pipe operations, which is nearly always true for any Linux system.

A system is affected if it runs a Linux kernel version older than the patched version for the respective distribution (e.g., pre-3.2.73-2+deb7u3 for Debian wheezy, pre-3.10.0-229.26.2 for RHEL 7.1) or Android 6.0.1 and earlier, and allows local untrusted users access to the system.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 6.0.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the corresponding kernel security update to the affected Debian or RHEL systems and schedule a system reboot to load the patched kernel. Alternatively, upgrade to a kernel version that contains the corrected fix for this vulnerability.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,790
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-0774 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data