CVE-2016-2073 [Medium] | Memory Corruption in Libxml2

CVE-2016-2073 is rated Moderate Risk (54.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 2.31%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-07-02	2.66%	2.31%	-0.35%
2	2026-06-15	1.51%	2.66%	+1.15%
3	2026-05-13	—	1.51%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-07-02

2.66%

2.31%

-0.35%

2026-06-15

1.51%

2.66%

+1.15%

2026-05-13

—

1.51%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
6.5	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. 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:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:N) Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	2.8	3.6	[email protected]
4.3	2.0	MEDIUM	`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:M) Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:N) No confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:N) No integrity impact. Availability impact (A:P) Partial availability impact.	8.6	2.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

6.5

3.1

MEDIUM

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

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N): Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

2.8

3.6

[email protected]

4.3

2.0

MEDIUM

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

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M): Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N): No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N): No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P): Partial availability impact.

8.6

2.9

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-2073

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	not yet assigned	CVE-2016-2073 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libxml2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-2073
`gentoo`	normal	CVE-2016-2073: 1 GLSA(s) (201701-37), 1 atom(s) (dev-libs/libxml2); latest impact normal.	https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2016-2073
`redhat`	—	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-2073
`suse`	medium	CVE-2016-2073 severity moderate: SUSE including 15 source package names (libxml2-2-2.9.1-24.1, libxml2-2-32bit-2.9.1-24.1, …), 72 product×package rows across 19 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1, … (19 product lines)): Fixed 72.	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-2073/
`ubuntu`	low	CVE-2016-2073 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libxml2), 7 status rows across 7 suites (precise, trusty, upstream, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): released 5, not-affected 2.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-2073

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-2073

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
xmlsoft	libxml2	< 2.9.4	cpe:2.3:a:xmlsoft:libxml2::::::::
debian	debian_linux	8.0	cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:::::::*
canonical	ubuntu_linux	12.04	cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04::::lts:::
canonical	ubuntu_linux	14.04	cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04::::lts:::
canonical	ubuntu_linux	15.10	cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:15.10:::::::*
canonical	ubuntu_linux	16.04	cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04::::lts:::

References for CVE-2016-2073

URL	Tags
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/25/6	Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/26/7	Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/bulletinjul2016-3090568.html	Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/85267	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035011	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2994-1	Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-37	Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3593	Third Party Advisory

URL

CVE-2016-2073

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-2073

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-2073

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-2073

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-2073

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-2073

References for CVE-2016-2073