CVE-2017-16611

In libXfont before 1.5.4 and libXfont2 before 2.0.3, a local attacker can open (but not read) files on the system as root, triggering tape rewinds, watchdogs, or similar mechanisms that can be triggered by opening files.

Published: 2017-12-01 Last update: 2026-05-13 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2017-16611 is rated Low Risk (34/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.42%). 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-2017-16611

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% 0.42% +0.34%
2 2025-07-12 0.03% 0.08% +0.04%
3 2025-03-30 — 0.03% —

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2017-16611

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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: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: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.
 1.8 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-2017-16611

OS Trackers for CVE-2017-16611

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2017-16611: 2 source package rows (libxfont, libxfont2); 15 state rows across 12 repos (3.10-main, 3.11-main, 3.12-main, 3.17-community, 3.17-main, 3.18-community, 3.19-community, 3.20-community, 3.21-community, 3.22-community, edge-community, edge-main); fixed 15, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2017-16611
debian low CVE-2017-16611 low priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libxfont), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2017-16611
gentoo normal CVE-2017-16611: 1 GLSA(s) (201801-10), 2 atom(s) (x11-libs/libXfont, x11-libs/libXfont2); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2017-16611
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16611
suse medium CVE-2017-16611 severity moderate: SUSE including 257 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, …), 449 product×package rows across 50 product lines (SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0, SUSE CaaS Platform 4.5, … (50 product lines)): Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 164, Fixed 54. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-16611/
ubuntu medium CVE-2017-16611 medium priority: Ubuntu including 3 source packages (libxfont, libxfont1, libxfont2), 15 status rows across 5 suites (artful, trusty, upstream, xenial, zesty): released 10, DNE 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-16611

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2017-16611

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
debian debian_linux 8.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 9.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 14.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 16.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 17.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:17.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 17.10 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:17.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
x libxfont >= 1.0.0, < 1.5.4 cpe:2.3:a:x:libxfont:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
x libxfont >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.3 cpe:2.3:a:x:libxfont:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2017-16611

cvelogic Threat Intelligence