Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2016-5285
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 · uneditedA Null pointer dereference vulnerability exists in Mozilla Network Security Services due to a missing NULL check in PK11_SignWithSymKey / ssl3_ComputeRecordMACConstantTime, which could let a remote malicious user cause a Denial of Service.
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 confidenceA null pointer dereference vulnerability exists in Mozilla Network Security Services (NSS) library due to a missing NULL check in the PK11_SignWithSymKey and ssl3_ComputeRecordMACConstantTime functions. A remote attacker can trigger this by providing malicious input that results in a NULL pointer being passed to these cryptographic signing functions, causing a denial of service via 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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0= 9.0= 10.0
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
= 5.0= 6.0= 7.0< 3.26= 11>= 6.1, <= 6.3.3= 7.0= 3.0>= 6.0, <= 6.3.117.0= 7.0= 7.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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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Identify installed NSS library versionRun 'pkg-config --modversion nss' or check the NSS package version using your system's package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q nss' for RHEL, 'dpkg -l libnss3' for Debian)Affected if The NSS version is lower than 3.26 (e.g., 3.25.x, 3.24.x, etc.)
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Check Debian Linux versionRun 'cat /etc/debian_version' or 'lsb_release -a'Affected if Running Debian 8.0, 9.0, or 10.0 with NSS version below 3.26
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Check Red Hat Enterprise Linux versionRun 'cat /etc/redhat-release' or 'rpm -q redhat-release'Affected if Running RHEL 5.0, 6.0, or 7.0 with NSS version below 3.26
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Check SUSE Linux Enterprise Server versionRun 'cat /etc/SuSE-release' or 'ls -la /etc/*release*'Affected if Running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 with NSS version below 3.26
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Check Avaya product versionsIdentify the installed version of Avaya Aura Application Enablement Services, Application Server 5300, or Communication Manager via product documentation or system information utilitiesAffected if Running Avaya Aura Application Enablement Services 6.1 through 6.3.3 or 7.0, Application Server 5300 version 3.0, or Communication Manager 6.0 through 6.3.117.0 or 7.0
You are affected if your system runs NSS version below 3.26, or uses any of the listed Debian, RHEL, SUSE, or Avaya product versions that bundle the vulnerable NSS version.
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 data3.26
Apply the NSS security update that includes proper NULL pointer validation in PK11_SignWithSymKey and ssl3_ComputeRecordMACConstantTime functions. Ensure all products using the affected NSS library version are updated.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,992.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5285 — 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-2016-5285 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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- 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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