Linux · Kernel
CVE-2016-5195
Linux Kernel Race Condition Vulnerability
Exploited in attacks
High 7.0 Attack chance: 84%
What it is
Race condition in mm/gup.c in the Linux kernel 2.x through 4.x before 4.8.3 allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging incorrect handling of a copy-on-write (COW) feature to write to a read-only memory mapping, as exploited in the wild in October 2016, aka "Dirty COW."
CISA: Race condition in mm/gup.c in the Linux kernel allows local users to escalate privileges.
What to do
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Deadline for US federal agencies: March 24, 2022
- Added to the CISA list
- March 3, 2022
- Published
- November 10, 2016
- Severity
- High 7.0 CVSS 3.1
- Chance of attacks in the next 30 days (EPSS)
- 84% in the top 0.3% of all known vulnerabilities
- Weakness
- CWE-362
- More details
- NVD · CVE.org · CISA
All references (20)
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2107.html
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:0372
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2118.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2128.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2120.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2133.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2098.html
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40616/
- https://bto.bluecoat.com/security-advisory/sa134
- https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05352241
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2018-4258247.html
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40839/
- https://dirtycow.ninja
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40847/
- https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2016-12-01.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/26/7
- https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbgn03761en_us
- https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/243144
- https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1004418
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037078
More exploited flaws from Linux
| Added | Vulnerability | Product | Severity | Attack chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2026 | Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions | Kernel | Critical 9.8 | 3.3% |
| Sep 18, 2026 | Race Condition | Kernel | High 7.8 | 1.6% |
| Sep 18, 2026 | Out-of-Bounds Write | Kernel | High 8.8 | 0.9% |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Unspecified | Kernel | High 7.8 | 0.7% |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Out-of-Bounds Write | Kernel | High 7.8 | 8.9% |
| Jun 2, 2026 | Improper Authentication | Kernel | High 7.8 | 5.5% |
| May 1, 2026 | Incorrect Resource Transfer Between Spheres | Kernel | High 7.8 | 98% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | Integer Overflow | Kernel | High 7.8 | 15% |
Sources: Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (CISA, public domain), CVE records (cve.org) and EPSS (FIRST). The chance of attacks is the EPSS estimate that someone will try to exploit the flaw in the next 30 days.