CVE-2016-9083: Buffer Overflow

Published Oct 27, 2016
·
Updated

A flaw was discovered in the Linux kernels implementation of VFIO. While issuing an IOCTL, the VFIODEVICESETIRQS parameter for vfio PCI devices has a state machine confusion bug where specifying VFIOIRQSETDATANONE along with another bit in VFIOIRQSETDATATYPEMASK in hdr.flags allows integer overflow checks to be skipped for hdr.start/hdr.count.

This might allow memory corruption later in vfiopcisetmsitrigger() with user access to an appropriate vfio device file, but it seems difficult to usefully exploit in practice.

Proposed patch:

https://patchwork.kernel.org/patch/9373631/

CVE assignment:

http://seclists.org/oss-sec/2016/q4/251

Other sources

drivers/vfio/pci/vfiopci.c in the Linux kernel through 4.8.11 allows local users to bypass integer overflow checks, and cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or have unspecified other impact, by leveraging access to a vfio PCI device file for a VFIODEVICESETIRQS ioctl call, aka a "state machine confusion bug."

Launchpad

Affected Software

8 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Linux kernel>=3.6<3.10.107
Linux Linux kernel>=3.11<3.12.70
Linux Linux kernel>=3.13<3.16.39
Linux Linux kernel>=3.17<3.18.51
Linux Linux kernel>=3.19<4.1.41
Linux Linux kernel>=4.2<4.4.65
Linux Linux kernel>=4.5<4.9
debian/linux
5.10.223-15.10.234-16.1.129-16.1.135-16.12.25-1

Event History

Oct 27, 2016
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·09:52 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Nov 28, 2016
CVE Published
via MITRE·03:01 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·03:01 AM
Description
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·10:21 PM
Description
Dec 1, 2024
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·01:33 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Apr 28, 2025
Data Sourced
via Debian·03:33 AM
DescriptionAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2016-9083?

CVE-2016-9083 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel that allows local users to bypass integer overflow checks and cause memory corruption or other unspecified impact.

2

How severe is CVE-2016-9083?

CVE-2016-9083 has a severity level of high with a severity value of 7.

3

What software versions are affected by CVE-2016-9083?

CVE-2016-9083 affects Linux kernel versions up to 4.8.11.

4

Is there a fix for CVE-2016-9083?

Yes, upgrading to Linux kernel version 4.9 or later will fix the vulnerability.

5

Where can I find more information about CVE-2016-9083?

More information about CVE-2016-9083 can be found in the references section of the vulnerability report.

Contact

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