What is CVE-2016-6516?

CVE-2016-6516 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.4 out of 10, classified as a Buffer Overflow flaw (CWE-119). CVE-2016-6516 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2016-6516?

CVE-2016-6516 has a CVSS score of 7.4 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2016-6516?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2016-6516. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

Is CVE-2016-6516 actively exploited?

CVE-2016-6516 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)?

The product performs operations on a memory buffer but reads or writes outside its intended boundaries. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/119.html

CVE-2016-6516

High

Race condition in the ioctl_file_dedupe_range function in fs/ioctl.c in the Linux kernel through 4.7 allows local users to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) or possibly gain privileges by changing a certain count value, aka a "double fetch" vulnerability.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2016-08-06

Last modified 2026-05-06

CVSS version 3.0

Patch available

Awaiting data

CVSS 3.0 score

7.4

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

High

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Weakness type

CWE-119

CVE-2016-6516 is a Buffer Overflow vulnerability

What is Buffer Overflow?

The product performs operations on a memory buffer but reads or writes outside its intended boundaries. Learn more on MITRE CWE

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2016-6516 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Openwall
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/07/31/6

Release Notes
Securityfocus
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92259
Red Hat
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1362457

Issue Tracking Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
Kernel patch commit
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=10eec60ce79187686e052092e5383c99b4420a20
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/10eec60ce79187686e052092e5383c99b4420a20
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2016-6516

Severity High

CVSS score 7.4 / 10

CVSS version 3.0

Published 2016-08-06

Modified 2026-05-06

KEV No

Patch Awaiting data

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-6516?

CVE-2016-6516 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.4 out of 10 , classified as a Buffer Overflow flaw (CWE-119) . CVE-2016-6516 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2016-6516?

CVE-2016-6516 has a CVSS score of 7.4 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.0). The vector string is CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2016-6516?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2016-6516. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
Is CVE-2016-6516 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2016-6516 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)?

The product performs operations on a memory buffer but reads or writes outside its intended boundaries. View CWE-119 on MITRE CWE →