kernel: memory corruption caused by BPF verifier bugs can allow for arbitrary code execution
Published Dec 22, 2017
7.8
HIGHCVSS 3.1
EPSS 0.40%
Description
kernel/bpf/verifier.c in the Linux kernel through 4.14.8 allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact by leveraging register truncation mishandling.
Affected products
- Vendor n/a Product Linux kernel through 4.14.8 Defaultn/a
- Version Linux kernel through 4.14.8StatusaffectedConstraints-
- Version
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n/a | Linux kernel through 4.14.8 | n/a |
|
Configuration 1
- ≥ 4.14 · < 4.14.9
Configuration 2
- 9.0
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
kernel-alt
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
kernel-rt
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
kernel
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2
realtime-kernel
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | kernel | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | kernel | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel-alt | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel-rt | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | kernel | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2 | realtime-kernel | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
This issue does not affect the versions of the kernel package as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6, 7 and Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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
2021–2026- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
Percentile over time
- EPSS v1
- EPSS v5
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
Table of values (8 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.40% (0.00397) | 31.45th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Sep 20, 2026 | 0.40% (0.00397) | 33.71th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jul 20, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.06th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.63th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 32.28th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 0.95% (0.00950) | 13.46th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 3, 2022 | 0.68% (0.00677) | 18.79th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 0.68% (0.00677) | 0.00th | v1 |
References (9)
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=0c17d1d2c61936401f4702e1846e2c19b200f958 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingPatchVendor Advisory
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/12/21/2 x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102267 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16996 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugs.chromium.org/p/project-zero/issues/detail?id=1454 x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1528516 Issue Tracking
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/0c17d1d2c61936401f4702e1846e2c19b200f958 x_refsource_MISCPatchVendor Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16996
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-16996
| Link | Providers | Tags |
|---|---|---|
| http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=0c17d1d2c61936401f4702e1846e2c19b200f958 | x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingPatchVendor Advisory | |
| http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/12/21/2 | x_refsource_MISCIssue TrackingMailing ListThird Party Advisory | |
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102267 | vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry | |
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16996 | Vendor Advisory | |
| https://bugs.chromium.org/p/project-zero/issues/detail?id=1454 | x_refsource_MISCThird Party Advisory | |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1528516 | Issue Tracking | |
| https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/0c17d1d2c61936401f4702e1846e2c19b200f958 | x_refsource_MISCPatchVendor Advisory | |
| https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16996 | ||
| https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-16996 |
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.