Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2016-6224

ecryptfs-setup-swap in eCryptfs does not prevent the unencrypted swap partition from activating during boot when using GPT partitioning on a (1) NVMe or (2) MMC drive, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information via unspecified vectors. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2015-8946.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a LOW severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 3.3, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts limited data confidentiality, for affected systems. Impacting 2 products from ecryptfs, from canonical 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

2016-07-22T14:59:01.787

Last Modified

2026-06-17T00:50:39.310

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 3.3 (LOW)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

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

Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

2.9

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-20

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	ecryptfs	ecryptfs-utils	≤ 110	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	14.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	15.10	Yes

References

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/07/13/2 ([email protected])
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/07/14/3 ([email protected])
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3032-1 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://bazaar.launchpad.net/~ecryptfs/ecryptfs/trunk/revision/882 ([email protected])
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ecryptfs/+bug/1597154 ([email protected])
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ecryptfs-utils/+bug/1447282 ([email protected])
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/K5WWCVHDLRLZTYMXEIONYFHLYAXXLJW3/ ([email protected])
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/07/13/2 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/07/14/3 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3032-1 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://bazaar.launchpad.net/~ecryptfs/ecryptfs/trunk/revision/882 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ecryptfs/+bug/1597154 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ecryptfs-utils/+bug/1447282 (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/K5WWCVHDLRLZTYMXEIONYFHLYAXXLJW3/ (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 ecryptfs'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.