CVE-2016-1238

(1) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptar, (2) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptardiff, (3) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptargrep, (4) cpan/CPAN/scripts/cpan, (5) cpan/Digest-SHA/shasum, (6) cpan/Encode/bin/enc2xs, (7) cpan/Encode/bin/encguess, (8) cpan/Encode/bin/piconv, (9) cpan/Encode/bin/ucmlint, (10) cpan/Encode/bin/unidump, (11) cpan/ExtUtils-MakeMaker/bin/instmodsh, (12) cpan/IO-Compress/bin/zipdetails, (13) cpan/JSON-PP/bin/json_pp, (14) cpan/Test-Harness/bin/prove, (15) dist/ExtUtils-ParseXS/lib/ExtUtils/xsubpp, (16) dist/Module-CoreList/corelist, (17) ext/Pod-Html/bin/pod2html, (18) utils/c2ph.PL, (19) utils/h2ph.PL, (20) utils/h2xs.PL, (21) utils/libnetcfg.PL, (22) utils/perlbug.PL, (23) utils/perldoc.PL, (24) utils/perlivp.PL, and (25) utils/splain.PL in Perl 5.x before 5.22.3-RC2 and 5.24 before 5.24.1-RC2 do not properly remove . (period) characters from the end of the includes directory array, which might allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse module under the current working directory.

Published: 2016-08-02 Last update: 2026-05-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2016-1238 is rated Moderate Risk (48.8/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.27%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-1238

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-12-28 0.38% 0.27% -0.11%
2 2025-12-27 0.27% 0.38% +0.11%
3 2025-10-28 — 0.27% —

Full EPSS history (15 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-1238

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
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.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.2 2.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/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:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
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.
 3.9 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-1238

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-1238

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2016-1238: 1 source package rows (spamassassin); 10 state rows across 10 repos (3.10-main, 3.11-main, 3.12-main, 3.17-main, 3.18-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 10, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2016-1238
debian not yet assigned CVE-2016-1238 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (perl), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-1238
gentoo normal CVE-2016-1238: 2 GLSA(s) (201701-75, 201812-07), 2 atom(s) (dev-lang/perl, mail-filter/spamassassin); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2016-1238
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-1238
suse medium CVE-2016-1238 severity moderate: SUSE including 98 source package names (0.9.1:perl-base-5.18.2-11.1, 1.0.0:perl-base-5.18.2-11.1, …), 361 product×package rows across 112 product lines (Container caasp/v4/default-http-backend, Container caasp/v4/dnsmasq-nanny, … (112 product lines)): Fixed 253, Known Not Affected 108. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-1238/
ubuntu medium CVE-2016-1238 medium priority: Ubuntu including 2 source packages (libsys-syslog-perl, perl), 20 status rows across 10 suites (artful, bionic, cosmic, precise, trusty, upstream, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): DNE 6, ignored 5, not-affected 5, released 3, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-1238

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-1238

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
debian debian_linux 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 23 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:23:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 24 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:24:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 1.0.15 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:1.0.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 1.0.16 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:1.0.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.000 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.000:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.000o cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.000o:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.001 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.001:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.001n cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.001n:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.002 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.002:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.002_01 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.002_01:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_01 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_01:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_02 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_02:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_03 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_03:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_04 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_05 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_05:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_07 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_07:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_08 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_08:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_09 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_09:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_10 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_11 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_12 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_13 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_14 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_15 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_16 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_17 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_18 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_18:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_19 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_19:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_20 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_21 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_21:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_22 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_23 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_23:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_24 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_24:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_25 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_25:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_26 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_27 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_27:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_28 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_28:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_90 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_90:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_91 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_91:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_92 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_92:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_93 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_93:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_94 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_94:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_95 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_95:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_96 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_96:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97a cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97b cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97b:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97c cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97c:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97d cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97d:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97e cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97e:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97f cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97f:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97g cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97g:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97h cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97h:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97i cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97i:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_97j cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_97j:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_98 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_98:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_99 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_99:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.003_99a cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.003_99a:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.004 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.004:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.004_01 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.004_01:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.004_02 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.004_02:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.004_03 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.004_03:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.004_04 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.004_04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.004_05 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.004_05:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.005 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.005:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.005_01 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.005_01:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.005_02 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.005_02:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.005_03 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.005_03:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.005_04 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.005_04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.6 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.6.0 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.6.1 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.6.2 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.7.3 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.7.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.8 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.8.0 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.8.1 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
perl perl 5.8.2 cpe:2.3:a:perl:perl:5.8.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-1238

URL Tags
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-08/msg00002.html Third Party Advisory
http://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git/commit/cee96d52c39b1e7b36e1c62d38bcd8d86e9a41ab Issue Tracking
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3628 Third Party Advisory
http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2016/07/msg238271.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92136 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036440 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05240731 Third Party Advisory
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/7f6a16bc0fd0fd5e67c7fd95bd655069a2ac7d1f88e42d3c853e601c%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/11/msg00016.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/2FBQOCV3GBAN2EYZUM3CFDJ4ECA3GZOK/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DOFRQWJRP2NQJEYEWOMECVW3HAMD5SYN/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TZBNQH3DMI7HDELJAZ4TFJJANHXOEDWH/
https://rt.perl.org/Public/Bug/Display.html?id=127834 Permissions Required
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-75 Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201812-07 Third Party Advisory
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