LinuxOperating system · Oracle

CVE-2016-2796

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-03-13

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to after 44.0.2 or later.

See remediation →

95/100

Remediation priority · Urgent

Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description

NVD · unedited

Heap-based buffer overflow in the graphite2::vm::Machine::Code::Code function in Graphite 2 before 1.3.6, as used in Mozilla Firefox before 45.0 and Firefox ESR 38.x before 38.7, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted Graphite smart font.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow in the graphite2::vm::Machine::Code::Code function in Graphite 2 library versions before 1.3.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via a crafted Graphite smart font. The vulnerability affects Mozilla Firefox versions before 45.0 and Firefox ESR before 38.7 which embed the vulnerable Graphite2 library.

MitigationUpgrade Graphite 2 to version 1.3.6 or later, and update Mozilla Firefox to 45.0+ (or ESR 38.7+) to incorporate the patched library.

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

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

LinuxOperating system

Affected:= 5.0= 6= 7

FirefoxWeb browser

Affected:<= 44.0.2= 38.0= 38.0.1= 38.0.5= 38.1.0= 38.1.1= 38.2.0= 38.2.1= 38.3.0= 38.4.0= 38.5.0= 38.5.1

Graphite2Application

Affected:<= 1.3.5

LeapOperating system

Affected:= 42.1

OpensuseOperating system

Affected:= 13.1= 13.2

Linux EnterpriseOperating system

Affected:= 12.0

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges: None
User interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

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

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

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

Check Graphite2 library version

Locate the Graphite2 library (libgraphite2.so on Linux, libgraphite2.dylib on macOS) and query its version using 'strings' command or checking the file metadata. On Linux systems, check /usr/lib/ or /usr/lib64/ directories. You can also run 'pkg-config --modversion graphite2' if available.

Affected if The installed Graphite2 library version is 1.3.5 or lower
Check Mozilla Firefox version

Run 'firefox --version' from command line, or check the application bundle info on macOS, or check the RPM/DEB package version on Linux systems. On Windows, check the file properties of firefox.exe.

Affected if Firefox version is 44.0.2 or lower, or any 38.x version (38.0 through 38.5.1)
Check Firefox ESR version if applicable

Run 'firefox --version' and look for 'ESR' in the output, or check installed package details. ESR versions 38.0 through 38.6.x are affected.

Affected if Firefox ESR version is 38.6.x or lower (specifically 38.0 to 38.6.x range)
Verify Graphite font processing capability

Check if the system or Firefox has Graphite smart font support enabled. Look for presence of Graphite2 library in Firefox's plugin directories, or check if Graphite fonts (.grc files) are present in font directories that Firefox would load.

Affected if Graphite2 library is present AND the system processes untrusted Graphite smart fonts

You are affected if you have Graphite2 library version 1.3.5 or lower, OR Mozilla Firefox version 44.0.2 or lower (or Firefox ESR 38.x), AND you process Graphite smart fonts from untrusted sources.

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

Remediation

From vendor data

Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 44.0.2

Interim mitigation

Upgrade Graphite 2 to version 1.3.6 or later, and update Mozilla Firefox to 45.0+ (or ESR 38.7+) to incorporate the patched library.

Fix this in Linux Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation2.0 h
Implementation1.0 h
Testing4.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

9.0 hours of engineering $1,540

Get the upgrade done

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 locally

dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2796 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-2796 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2016-2796?

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

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 44.0.2 or later

Severity 8.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 3.9%

Affects: Linux

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Linux 9 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $1,540

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2016-2796 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References