CVE-2016-4448

Format string vulnerability in libxml2 before 2.9.4 allows attackers to have unspecified impact via format string specifiers in unknown vectors.

Published: 2016-06-09 Last update: 2026-05-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2016-4448 is rated High Risk (67.4/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.55%). 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-2016-4448

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 2026-05-12 1.88% 1.55% -0.33%
2 2026-05-11 1.20% 1.88% +0.67%
3 2026-01-01 — 1.20% —

Full EPSS history (40 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-4448

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/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]
10.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C 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:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 10.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-4448

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-4448

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2016-4448 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-2016-4448
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-4448
suse medium CVE-2016-4448 severity moderate: SUSE including 19 source package names (libxml2-2-2.9.1-24.1, libxml2-2-32bit-2.9.1-24.1, …), 76 product×package rows across 20 product lines (SUSE Liberty Linux 7, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12, … (20 product lines)): Fixed 76. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-4448/
ubuntu low CVE-2016-4448 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libxml2), 7 status rows across 7 suites (precise, trusty, upstream, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): released 4, not-affected 2, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-4448

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-4448

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
hp icewall_federation_agent 3.0 cpe:2.3:a:hp:icewall_federation_agent:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple watchos <= 2.2.1 cpe:2.3:o:apple:watchos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple mac_os_x < 10.11.6 cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
xmlsoft libxml2 <= 2.9.3 cpe:2.3:a:xmlsoft:libxml2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple icloud < 5.2.1 cpe:2.3:a:apple:icloud:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple iphone_os <= 9.3.2 cpe:2.3:o:apple:iphone_os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_desktop 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_desktop 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_aus 7.2 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_aus:7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_aus 7.3 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_aus:7.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_aus 7.4 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_aus:7.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_aus 7.6 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_aus:7.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_aus 7.7 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_aus:7.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_eus 7.2 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_eus:7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_eus 7.3 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_eus:7.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_eus 7.4 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_eus:7.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_eus 7.5 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_eus:7.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_eus 7.6 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_eus:7.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_eus 7.7 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_eus:7.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_tus 7.2 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_tus:7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_tus 7.3 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_tus:7.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_tus 7.6 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_tus:7.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server_tus 7.7 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server_tus:7.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_workstation 6.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_workstation:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_workstation 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_workstation:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple itunes <= 12.4.1 cpe:2.3:a:apple:itunes:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
slackware slackware_linux 14.0 cpe:2.3:o:slackware:slackware_linux:14.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
slackware slackware_linux 14.1 cpe:2.3:o:slackware:slackware_linux:14.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle vm_server 3.3 cpe:2.3:o:oracle:vm_server:3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle vm_server 3.4 cpe:2.3:o:oracle:vm_server:3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple tvos <= 9.2.1 cpe:2.3:o:apple:tvos:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
tenable log_correlation_engine 4.8.0 cpe:2.3:a:tenable:log_correlation_engine:4.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee web_gateway <= 7.5.2.10 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:web_gateway:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee web_gateway >= 7.6.0.0, <= 7.6.2.3 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:web_gateway:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle linux 6 cpe:2.3:o:oracle:linux:6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle linux 7 cpe:2.3:o:oracle:linux:7:0:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-4448

URL Tags
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2016/Jul/msg00000.html Mailing List Release Notes
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2016/Jul/msg00001.html Mailing List Release Notes
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2016/Jul/msg00002.html Mailing List Release Notes
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2016/Jul/msg00003.html Mailing List Release Notes
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2016/Jul/msg00005.html Mailing List Release Notes
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2957.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/05/25/2 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/bulletinjul2016-3090568.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/linuxbulletinjul2016-3090544.html Third Party Advisory
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/ovmbulletinjul2016-3090546.html Vendor Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/90856 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036348 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.slackware.com/security/viewer.php?l=slackware-security&y=2016&m=slackware-security.404722 Third Party Advisory
http://xmlsoft.org/news.html Release Notes
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016:1292 Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1338700 Issue Tracking Third Party Advisory
https://git.gnome.org/browse/libxml2/commit/?id=4472c3a5a5b516aaf59b89be602fbce52756c3e9 Vendor Advisory
https://git.gnome.org/browse/libxml2/commit/?id=502f6a6d08b08c04b3ddfb1cd21b2f699c1b7f5b Vendor Advisory
https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05194709 Third Party Advisory
https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10170 Third Party Advisory
https://support.apple.com/HT206899 Release Notes
https://support.apple.com/HT206901 Release Notes
https://support.apple.com/HT206902 Release Notes
https://support.apple.com/HT206903 Release Notes
https://support.apple.com/HT206904 Release Notes
https://support.apple.com/HT206905 Release Notes
https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2016-18 Third Party Advisory
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