ntp: Privilege escalation via cronjob
Published Apr 14, 2017
7.8
HIGHCVSS 3.0
EPSS 1.25%
Description
The crontab script in the ntp package before 1:4.2.6.p3+dfsg-1ubuntu3.11 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, before 1:4.2.6.p5+dfsg-3ubuntu2.14.04.10 on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, on Ubuntu Wily, and before 1:4.2.8p4+dfsg-3ubuntu5.3 on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS allows local users with access to the ntp account to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain privileges via vectors involving statistics directory cleanup.
Affected products
No data.
- 12.04
- 14.04
- 16.04
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
ntp
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
ntp
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
ntp
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | ntp | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | ntp | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | ntp | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
This issue did not affect the versions of ntp as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6, or 7.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
1 other source (Red Hat) ▾
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (13 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 1.25% (0.01254) | 68.40th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 1.25% (0.01254) | 65.49th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jan 14, 2026 | 0.89% (0.00885) | 74.95th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| May 21, 2025 | 3.28% (0.03285) | 86.55th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 30, 2025 | 0.91% (0.00913) | 73.76th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 29, 2025 | 3.93% (0.03932) | 80.24th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.91% (0.00913) | 74.25th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00044) | 15.06th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 27, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00044) | 12.76th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00044) | 10.75th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 2.11% (0.02115) | 80.01th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 2.11% (0.02115) | 78.09th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 2.11% (0.02115) | 56.78th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (10)
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/141913/NTP-Privilege-Escalation.html x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- http://www.halfdog.net/Security/2015/NtpCronjobUserNtpToRootPrivilegeEscalation/
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/81552 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034808 vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3096-1 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUVendor Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-0727 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ntp/+bug/1528050 x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue TrackingPatchVendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1382369 x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue Tracking
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-0727
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-0727
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/141913/NTP-Privilege-Escalation.html | x_refsource_MISCExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| http://www.halfdog.net/Security/2015/NtpCronjobUserNtpToRootPrivilegeEscalation/ | ||
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/81552 | vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034808 | vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3096-1 | vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUVendor Advisory | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-0727 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ntp/+bug/1528050 | x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue TrackingPatchVendor Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1382369 | x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue Tracking | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-0727 | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-0727 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.