CVE-2016-10088 [High] | Use-After-Free in Linux Kernel

The sg implementation in the Linux kernel through 4.9 does not properly restrict write operations in situations where the KERNEL_DS option is set, which allows local users to read or write to arbitrary kernel memory locations or cause a denial of service (use-after-free) by leveraging access to a /dev/sg device, related to block/bsg.c and drivers/scsi/sg.c. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2016-9576.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	0.07%	0.37%	+0.30%
2	2025-10-28	0.03%	0.07%	+0.04%
3	2025-03-30	—	0.03%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

0.07%

0.37%

+0.30%

2025-10-28

0.03%

0.07%

+0.04%

2025-03-30

—

0.03%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.0	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:H) Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.0	5.9	[email protected]
6.9	2.0	MEDIUM	`AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C` Click to expand Access vector (AV:L) Requires local access to the target system. Access complexity (AC:M) Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:C) Complete confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:C) Complete integrity impact. Availability impact (A:C) Complete availability impact.	3.4	10.0	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.0

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H): Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.0

5.9

[email protected]

6.9

2.0

MEDIUM

AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand

Access vector (AV:L): Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:M): Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C): Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C): Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C): Complete availability impact.

3.4

10.0

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-10088

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	not yet assigned	CVE-2016-10088 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-10088
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-10088
`suse`	high	CVE-2016-10088 severity important: SUSE including 171 source package names (kernel-3.10.0-693.el7, kernel-abi-whitelists-3.10.0-693.el7, …), 519 product×package rows across 72 product lines (HPE Helion OpenStack 8, SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0, … (72 product lines)): Fixed 282, Known Not Affected 237.	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-10088/
`ubuntu`	low	CVE-2016-10088 low priority: Ubuntu including 101 source packages (linux, linux-armadaxp, …), 848 status rows across 12 suites (artful, bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, precise, trusty, upstream, xenial, yakkety, zesty): DNE 574, not-affected 131, released 111, ignored 32.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-10088

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-10088

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	< 3.10.107	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 3.11, < 3.12.70	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 3.13, < 3.16.40	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 3.17, < 3.18.47	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 3.19, < 4.1.38	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.2, < 4.4.41	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.5, < 4.8.17	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.9, < 4.9.2	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::

References for CVE-2016-10088

URL	Tags
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=128394eff343fc6d2f32172f03e24829539c5835	Patch Vendor Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0817.html	Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/12/30/1	Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95169	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037538	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1842	Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2077	Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2669	Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/128394eff343fc6d2f32172f03e24829539c5835	Patch Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2016-10088

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-10088

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-10088

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-10088

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-10088

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-10088

References for CVE-2016-10088