CVE-2016-2074

Buffer overflow in lib/flow.c in ovs-vswitchd in Open vSwitch 2.2.x and 2.3.x before 2.3.3 and 2.4.x before 2.4.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted MPLS packets, as demonstrated by a long string in an ovs-appctl command.

Published: 2016-07-03 Last update: 2026-05-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2016-2074 is rated High Risk (68.5/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 6.23%, 93th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize 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-2016-2074

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 2026-06-15 9.34% 6.23% -3.11%
2 2026-05-24 7.54% 9.34% +1.80%
3 2025-12-14 — 7.54% —

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-2074

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.0 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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: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.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-2074

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-2074

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2016-2074 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (openvswitch), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-2074
gentoo normal CVE-2016-2074: 1 GLSA(s) (201701-07), 1 atom(s) (net-misc/openvswitch); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2016-2074
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-2074
ubuntu low CVE-2016-2074 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (openvswitch), 7 status rows across 7 suites (precise, trusty, upstream, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): not-affected 3, ignored 2, DNE 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-2074

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-2074

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
openvswitch openvswitch 2.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:openvswitch:openvswitch:2.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
openvswitch openvswitch 2.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:openvswitch:openvswitch:2.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
openvswitch openvswitch 2.3.1 cpe:2.3:a:openvswitch:openvswitch:2.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
openvswitch openvswitch 2.3.2 cpe:2.3:a:openvswitch:openvswitch:2.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
openvswitch openvswitch 2.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:openvswitch:openvswitch:2.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat openshift 3.1 cpe:2.3:a:redhat:openshift:3.1:*:*:*:enterprise:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-2074

cvelogic Threat Intelligence