Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2016-2186

The powermate_probe function in drivers/input/misc/powermate.c in the Linux kernel before 4.5.1 allows physically proximate attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) via a crafted endpoints value in a USB device descriptor.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 4.6, with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 10 products from linux, from novell, from novell and 7 others, 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

2016-05-02T10:59:29.863

Last Modified

2025-04-12T10:46:40.837

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 4.6 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

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

3.9

Impact Score

6.9

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    NVD-CWE-Other
Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Operating System linux linux_kernel ≤ 4.5.0 Yes
Application novell suse_linux_enterprise_software_development_kit 11.0 Yes
Application novell suse_linux_enterprise_software_development_kit 12.0 Yes
Application novell suse_linux_enterprise_software_development_kit 12.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_debuginfo 11.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_desktop 12.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_desktop 12.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_live_patching 12.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_module_for_public_cloud 12.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_real_time_extension 11.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_real_time_extension 12.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_server 11.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_server 11.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_server 12.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_server 12.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_workstation_extension 12.0 Yes
Operating System novell suse_linux_enterprise_workstation_extension 12.0 Yes
Operating System canonical ubuntu_linux 12.04 Yes
References

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 linux'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.