What is CVE-2017-16994?

CVE-2017-16994 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, classified as a Information Exposure flaw (CWE-200). CVE-2017-16994 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2017-16994?

CVE-2017-16994 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2017-16994?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2017-16994. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

Is CVE-2017-16994 actively exploited?

CVE-2017-16994 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Information Exposure (CWE-200)?

The product exposes sensitive information to an actor not authorised to see it. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/200.html

CVE-2017-16994

Medium

The walk_hugetlb_range function in mm/pagewalk.c in the Linux kernel before 4.14.2 mishandles holes in hugetlb ranges, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information from uninitialized kernel memory via crafted use of the mincore() system call.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2017-11-27

Last modified 2026-05-13

CVSS version 3.0

Patch available

Awaiting data

CVSS 3.0 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

Vector string

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

Weakness type

CWE-200

CVE-2017-16994 is a Information Exposure vulnerability

What is Information Exposure?

The product exposes sensitive information to an actor not authorised to see it. Learn more on MITRE CWE

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2017-16994 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel.org
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.14.2

Release Notes
Securityfocus
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101969

Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
Red Hat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0502
Ubuntu Security
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-1/
Ubuntu Security
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-2/
Ubuntu Security
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3617-3/
Ubuntu Security
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3619-1/
Ubuntu Security
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3619-2/
Ubuntu Security
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3632-1/
Exploit-DB
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/43178/

Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
Kernel patch commit
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=373c4557d2aa362702c4c2d41288fb1e54990b7c
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://bugs.chromium.org/p/project-zero/issues/detail?id=1431
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/373c4557d2aa362702c4c2d41288fb1e54990b7c
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2017-16994

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.0

Published 2017-11-27

Modified 2026-05-13

KEV No

Patch Awaiting data

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-16994?

CVE-2017-16994 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as an Information Exposure flaw (CWE-200) . CVE-2017-16994 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2017-16994?

CVE-2017-16994 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.0). The vector string is CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2017-16994?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2017-16994. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
Is CVE-2017-16994 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2017-16994 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is Information Exposure (CWE-200)?

The product exposes sensitive information to an actor not authorised to see it. View CWE-200 on MITRE CWE →