CVE-2016-5319
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 · uneditedHeap-based buffer overflow in tif_packbits.c in libtiff 4.0.6 and earlier allows remote attackers to crash the application via a crafted bmp file.
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow in libtiff's PackBits compression decoder (tif_packbits.c) in versions 4.0.6 and earlier allows a remote attacker to crash applications processing crafted BMP files by overflowing heap-allocated buffers.
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<= 4.0.6CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 libtiff versionRun `tiffinfo --version` or `tiffutil --version`, or check the library file with `pkg-config --modversion libtiff-4` or `ldd your_application | grep tiff`. On systems with RPM, use `rpm -q libtiff`. On Debian-based systems, use `dpkg -l libtiff*`.Affected if The installed version is 4.0.6 or earlier.
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Verify PackBits decoder is availableCheck if libtiff was built with PackBits support enabled by examining the library symbols: `nm -D /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libtiff.so.5 2>/dev/null | grep -i packbits` or check configure options if you compiled libtiff from source.Affected if PackBits decoder (TIFFDecode) is present and the library handles PackBits-compressed images.
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Identify applications using libtiff to process imagesRun `ldd /path/to/image_processing_application | grep tiff` for any application that processes image files, or check application dependencies. Look for software that opens BMP, TIFF, or related image formats.Affected if Any application linked against libtiff is used to process image files.
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Review image processing workflows for untrusted inputAudit your systems for any service, script, or daemon that accepts image uploads or processes image files from untrusted sources. Check configuration files and logs for evidence of BMP or TIFF file processing.Affected if Applications process BMP or other image files from external or untrusted sources without prior validation.
You are affected if libtiff version 4.0.6 or earlier is installed AND any application linked against libtiff processes BMP or image files from untrusted sources using the PackBits decoder.
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 libtiff to version 4.0.7 or later which contains the fix for this vulnerability. If upgrading is not possible, implement input validation to reject malformed BMP/TIFF files before passing them to libtiff.
- 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-2016-5319 — 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-2016-5319 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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