Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical
CVE-2016-2392
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 · uneditedThe is_rndis function in the USB Net device emulator (hw/usb/dev-network.c) in QEMU before 2.5.1 does not properly validate USB configuration descriptor objects, which allows local guest OS administrators to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and QEMU process crash) via vectors involving a remote NDIS control message packet.
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 confidenceThe is_rndis function in QEMU's USB network device emulator (hw/usb/dev-network.c) fails to properly validate USB configuration descriptor objects. A local guest OS administrator can send a specially crafted remote NDIS control message packet that triggers a NULL pointer dereference, causing the QEMU process to crash.
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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 12.04= 14.04= 15.10= 16.04= 2.5.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check QEMU versionRun 'qemu-system-x86_64 --version' or 'qemu-img --version' to determine the installed QEMU versionAffected if Version is exactly 2.5.0 (the only explicitly listed affected version)
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Check if running as QEMU virtual machineOn the host, use 'ps aux | grep qemu' or check hypervisor indicators to determine if QEMU is actively running virtual machinesAffected if QEMU is running virtual machines with USB network device emulation enabled
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Verify USB network device emulation configurationInspect QEMU command-line arguments or VM configuration files for '-usb' and network device emulators such as 'usb-net', 'rndis', or 'host:...'(these indicate USB network device usage)Affected if USB network device emulation (RNDIS) is configured and active in the virtual machine
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Confirm is_rndis code path is reachableThe vulnerability is in the is_rndis function in hw/usb/dev-network.c; check if guest OS has administrator privileges to send NDIS control messagesAffected if A guest OS administrator can send specially crafted remote NDIS control messages to the emulated USB network device
A system is affected if it runs QEMU version 2.5.0 with USB network device emulation (RNDIS) enabled, allowing a guest administrator to trigger the NULL pointer dereference in the is_rndis function.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade QEMU to version 2.5.1 or later, which contains the fix for proper validation of USB configuration descriptor objects in the is_rndis function.
Fix this in Ubuntu Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,464.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2392 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-2392 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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