CVE-2016-5011

The parse_dos_extended function in partitions/dos.c in the libblkid library in util-linux allows physically proximate attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a crafted MSDOS partition table with an extended partition boot record at zero offset.

Published: 2017-04-11 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2016-5011 is rated Low Risk (31.5/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.46%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2016-5011

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 0.14% 0.46% +0.32%
2 2026-03-17 0.23% 0.14% -0.08%
3 2025-06-20 0.23%

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-5011

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.6 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:P)
Hands-on access—USB, keyboard, opening the case—not something you do purely over the wire.
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: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.
0.9 3.6 [email protected]
4.9 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
3.9 6.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-5011

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-5011

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2016-5011 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (util-linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-5011
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-5011
suse low CVE-2016-5011 severity low: SUSE including 617 source package names (amazon/suse-sles-15-sp1-chost-byos-v20210304-hvm-ssd-x86_64, amazon/suse-sles-15-sp1-chost-byos-v20220127-hvm-ssd-x86_64, …), 857 product×package rows across 66 product lines (HPE Helion OpenStack 8, SUSE Liberty Linux 7, … (66 product lines)): Fixed 619, Known Affected 157, Known Not Affected 81. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-5011/
ubuntu low CVE-2016-5011 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (util-linux), 24 status rows across 24 suites (artful, bionic, cosmic, disco, eoan, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, precise, questing, trusty, upstream, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): not-affected 16, ignored 5, released 2, needed 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-5011

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-5011

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
kernel util-linux <= 2.28 cpe:2.3:a:kernel:util-linux:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_desktop 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_desktop:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_eus 7.3 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:7.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_eus 7.4 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:7.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_eus 7.5 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:7.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_eus 7.6 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:7.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_eus 7.7 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:7.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
redhat enterprise_linux_server 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_server:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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_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 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux_workstation:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm powerkvm 2.1 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powerkvm:2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm powerkvm 3.1 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:powerkvm:3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm power_hardware_management_console 8.8.6.0 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:power_hardware_management_console:8.8.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-5011

cvelogic Threat Intelligence