Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2016-5338

The (1) esp_reg_read and (2) esp_reg_write functions in hw/scsi/esp.c in QEMU allow local guest OS administrators to cause a denial of service (QEMU process crash) or execute arbitrary code on the QEMU host via vectors related to the information transfer buffer.

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 3 products from qemu, from canonical, from debian 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

2016-06-14T14:59:02.760

Last Modified

2025-04-12T10:46:40.837

Status

Deferred

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

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

Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
NVD-CWE-noinfo

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	qemu	qemu	≤ 2.6.2	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	12.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	14.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	16.04	Yes
Operating System	debian	debian_linux	8.0	Yes

References

http://git.qemu.org/?p=qemu.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=ff589551c8e8e9e95e211b9d8daafb4ed39f1aec ([email protected])
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/06/07/3 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/06/08/14 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91079 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3047-1 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3047-2 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/11/msg00038.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2016-06/msg01507.html Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201609-01 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://git.qemu.org/?p=qemu.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=ff589551c8e8e9e95e211b9d8daafb4ed39f1aec (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/06/07/3 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/06/08/14 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91079 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3047-1 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3047-2 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/11/msg00038.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2016-06/msg01507.html Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201609-01 Third Party 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 qemu'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.