LinuxOperating system · Oracle

CVE-2016-2799

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::Slot::setAttr 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

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the graphite2::Slot::setAttr function in Graphite 2 library versions prior to 1.3.6. The flaw is triggered when processing specially crafted Graphite smart fonts, allowing remote attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. This library is embedded in Mozilla Firefox before 45.0 and Firefox ESR 38.x before 38.7.

MitigationUpgrade Graphite 2 to version 1.3.6 or later, and update affected Mozilla Firefox products to version 45.0 or later (or Firefox ESR 38.7+). Until patches are applied, avoid loading untrusted Graphite smart fonts from untrusted sources.

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

LeapOperating system

Affected:= 42.1

OpensuseOperating system

Affected:= 13.1= 13.2

Linux EnterpriseOperating system

Affected:= 12.0

Graphite2Application

Affected:<= 1.3.5

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 Mozilla Firefox version

Run 'firefox --version' or go to Help > About Firefox in the application

Affected if Version is 44.0.2 or below, or any 38.x version from 38.0 through 38.5.1 (non-ESR or ESR) - these are the affected versions listed in the CVE
Check Graphite2 library version on Linux systems

Run 'rpm -qa | grep graphite' (RHEL/CentOS/Oracle) or 'dpkg -l | grep graphite2' (Debian/Ubuntu) or check the shared library file directly with 'strings /usr/lib/libgraphite2.so* | grep "^1\." | sort -V'

Affected if Graphite2 library version is 1.3.5 or earlier (the CVE specifies versions prior to 1.3.6 are affected)
Identify if Graphite smart font support is active

Check for loaded graphite2 modules: look for 'graphite' in the output of 'fc-list | head -20' or inspect font configuration files in /etc/fonts/ or ~/.fonts/ for graphite-enabled font entries

Affected if Graphite smart fonts are loaded or the system has graphite-enabled fonts installed - the vulnerability triggers when processing specially crafted Graphite smart fonts

You are affected if you have Firefox versions 44.0.2 or below, or Firefox 38.x (38.0-38.5.1), OR Graphite2 library version 1.3.5 or earlier, AND the system can process Graphite smart fonts (the attack vector requires loading a specially crafted Graphite font).

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 affected Mozilla Firefox products to version 45.0 or later (or Firefox ESR 38.7+). Until patches are applied, avoid loading untrusted Graphite smart fonts from untrusted sources.

Fix this in Linux Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation4.0 h
Implementation4.0 h
Testing8.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

18.0 hours of engineering $3,080

Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,928.

Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-2799 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2016-2799?

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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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 4.9%

Affects: Linux

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Linux 18 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $3,080

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2016-2799 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