CVE-2016-7553

The buf.pl script before 2.20 in Irssi before 0.8.20 uses weak permissions for the scrollbuffer dump file created between upgrades, which might allow local users to obtain sensitive information from private chat conversations by reading the file.

Published: 2017-02-27 Last update: 2026-05-13 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2016-7553 is rated Low Risk (24.3/100): CVSS Low severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.39%). 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-2016-7553

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 0.08% 0.39% +0.32%
2 2025-06-19 0.04% 0.08% +0.04%
3 2023-03-07 0.04%

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-7553

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
3.3 3.0 LOW
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N 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:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.8 1.4 [email protected]
2.1 2.0 LOW
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N 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:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
3.9 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-7553

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-7553

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2016-7553 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (irssi), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-7553
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-7553
ubuntu low CVE-2016-7553 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (irssi), 5 status rows across 5 suites (precise, trusty, upstream, xenial, yakkety): released 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-7553

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-7553

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
irssi buf.pl <= 2.13 cpe:2.3:a:irssi:buf.pl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-7553

cvelogic Threat Intelligence