Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2016-1886

Integer signedness error in the genkbd_commonioctl function in sys/dev/kbd/kbd.c in FreeBSD 9.3 before p42, 10.1 before p34, 10.2 before p17, and 10.3 before p3 allows local users to obtain sensitive information from kernel memory, cause a denial of service (memory overwrite and kernel crash), or gain privileges via a negative value in the flen structure member in the arg argument in a SETFKEY ioctl call, which triggers a "two way heap and stack overflow."

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from freebsd organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2016, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.

Published

2016-05-25T15:59:02.677

Last Modified

2025-04-12T10:46:40.837

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Access Vector: LOCAL
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-119

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Operating System	freebsd	freebsd	9.3	Yes
Operating System	freebsd	freebsd	10.1	Yes
Operating System	freebsd	freebsd	10.2	Yes
Operating System	freebsd	freebsd	10.3	Yes

References

http://cturt.github.io/SETFKEY.html Exploit ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/90734 ([email protected])
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035905 ([email protected])
https://security.FreeBSD.org/patches/SA-16:18/atkbd.patch Patch ([email protected])
https://www.freebsd.org/security/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-16:18.atkbd.asc Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://cturt.github.io/SETFKEY.html Exploit (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/90734 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035905 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://security.FreeBSD.org/patches/SA-16:18/atkbd.patch Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.freebsd.org/security/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-16:18.atkbd.asc Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For freebsd's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.