CVE-2016-9962

RunC allowed additional container processes via 'runc exec' to be ptraced by the pid 1 of the container. This allows the main processes of the container, if running as root, to gain access to file-descriptors of these new processes during the initialization and can lead to container escapes or modification of runC state before the process is fully placed inside the container.

Published: 2017-01-31 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2016-9962 is rated Low Risk (35.5/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.36%). 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-2016-9962

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 0.10% 0.36% +0.26%
2 2026-01-18 0.19% 0.10% -0.08%
3 2025-03-30 — 0.19% —

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-9962

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.4 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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.
 0.5 5.9 [email protected]
4.4 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
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.
 3.4 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-9962

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2016-9962

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-9962

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2016-9962 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 2 source packages (docker.io, runc), 10 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 10. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-9962
gentoo normal CVE-2016-9962: 1 GLSA(s) (201701-34), 1 atom(s) (app-emulation/runc); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2016-9962
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-9962
suse medium — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-9962/
ubuntu medium CVE-2016-9962 medium priority: Ubuntu including 2 source packages (docker.io, runc), 20 status rows across 10 suites (artful, bionic, cosmic, disco, precise, trusty, upstream, xenial, yakkety, zesty): released 13, DNE 4, ignored 2, not-affected 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9962

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-9962

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
docker docker >= 1.11.0, < 1.12.6 cpe:2.3:a:docker:docker:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-9962

URL Tags
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0116.html
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0123.html
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0127.html
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2017/Jan/21 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2017/Jan/29 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/540001/100/0/threaded
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95361 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://access.redhat.com/security/vulnerabilities/cve-2016-9962 Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1012568#c6 Issue Tracking
https://github.com/docker/docker/releases/tag/v1.12.6 Vendor Advisory
https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/commit/50a19c6ff828c58e5dab13830bd3dacde268afe5 Patch Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BQAXJMMLRU7DD2IMG47SR2K4BOFFG7FZ/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FINGBFMIXBG6B6ZWYH3TMRP5V3PDBNXR/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/UVM7FCOQMPKOFLDTUYSS4ES76DDM56VP/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/WUQ3MQNEL5IBZZLMLR72Q4YDCL2SCKRK/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-34 Third Party Advisory
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