CVE-2016-7042

Severity: medium (CVSS 6.2 v3.0)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2016-10-16 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-119

Description

The proc_keys_show function in security/keys/proc.c in the Linux kernel through 4.8.2, when the GNU Compiler Collection (gcc) stack protector is enabled, uses an incorrect buffer size for certain timeout data, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (stack memory corruption and panic) by reading the /proc/keys file.

Affected products

Linux kernel: through 4.8.2

References

http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0817.html
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/13/5
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/93544
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1842
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2077
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2669
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1373966
https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-01-01.html
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0817.html
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/13/5
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/93544
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1842

Get alerted when CVE-2016-7042 or the next vulnerability affects your stack