CVE & CISA-KEV Catalog

CVE-2016-6197

MEDIUM

5.5

CVSS v3

Description

fs/overlayfs/dir.c in the OverlayFS filesystem implementation in the Linux kernel before 4.6 does not properly verify the upper dentry before proceeding with unlink and rename system-call processing, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) via a rename system call that specifies a self-hardlink.

CWE-20Improper Input Validation

How to fix

Remediation Available

linuxDebian

Fixed in:4.6.1-1CVE-2016-6197

Fixed in:4.6.1-1CVE-2016-6197

Fixed in:4.6.1-1CVE-2016-6197

Fixed in:4.6.1-1CVE-2016-6197

linuxUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55USN-3070-1

linux-image-4.4.0-1021-raspi2Ubuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-1021.27USN-3070-2

linux-image-4.4.0-1024-snapdragonUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-1024.27USN-3070-3

linux-image-4.4.0-36-genericUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55~14.04.1USN-3070-4

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55USN-3070-1

linux-image-4.4.0-36-generic-lpaeUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55~14.04.1USN-3070-4

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55USN-3070-1

linux-image-4.4.0-36-lowlatencyUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55~14.04.1USN-3070-4

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55USN-3070-1

linux-image-4.4.0-36-powerpc-e500mcUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55~14.04.1USN-3070-4

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55USN-3070-1

linux-image-4.4.0-36-powerpc-smpUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55~14.04.1USN-3070-4

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55USN-3070-1

linux-image-4.4.0-36-powerpc64-embUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55~14.04.1USN-3070-4

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55USN-3070-1

linux-image-4.4.0-36-powerpc64-smpUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55~14.04.1USN-3070-4

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55USN-3070-1

linux-lts-xenialUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-36.55~14.04.1USN-3070-4

linux-raspi2Ubuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-1021.27USN-3070-2

linux-snapdragonUbuntu

Fixed in:4.4.0-1024.27USN-3070-3

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges RequiredLow

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityNone

IntegrityNone

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploit Intelligence

0.49%probability of exploitation in 30 days

38thpercentile

Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 38% of all known CVEs.

References

Patch2

Vendor Advisory1

oracle.com

Third-Party Advisory2

Issue Tracking1

bugzilla.redhat.com

Other references8

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVE	Severity	CVSS	EPSS	Exploited	Fix
CVE-2024-3400	Critical	10.0	100%	KEV + Ransom	-
CVE-2021-45105	Medium	5.9	100%	-	Fix
CVE-2021-44228	Critical	10.0	100%	KEV + Ransom	Fix
CVE-2021-21985	Critical	9.8	100%	KEV + Ransom	Fix
CVE-2018-7600	Critical	9.8	100%	KEV + Ransom	Fix
CVE-2020-3452	High	7.5	100%	KEV	Fix

Embed a live status badge for CVE-2016-6197

Markdown

[![CVE-2016-6197](https://tridentstack.com/cve/badge/CVE-2016-6197.svg)](https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2016-6197)

HTML

<a href="https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2016-6197"><img src="https://tridentstack.com/cve/badge/CVE-2016-6197.svg" alt="CVE-2016-6197"></a>

Find and fix vulnerabilities across your fleet

TridentStack Control continuously scans your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet for known vulnerabilities, prioritizes them by severity and active exploitation, and patches them automatically.

This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-05-06.