Medium severity5.5NVD Advisory· Published Nov 16, 2016· Updated Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2016-7914

Description

The assoc_array_insert_into_terminal_node function in lib/assoc_array.c in the Linux kernel before 4.5.3 does not check whether a slot is a leaf, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information from kernel memory or cause a denial of service (invalid pointer dereference and out-of-bounds read) via an application that uses associative-array data structures, as demonstrated by the keyutils test suite.

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

Affected products

Linux/Kernel2 versions
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*+ 1 more
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*range: <=4.5.2
- (no CPE)range: <4.5.3
osv-coords33 versions
pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-compute_debug&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Real%20Time%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-compute&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Real%20Time%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-default&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Desktop%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-default&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-default&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%2012-LTSS pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-default&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%20for%20SAP%20Applications%2012 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-default&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%20for%20SAP%20Applications%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-default&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Workstation%20Extension%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-docs&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Software%20Development%20Kit%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-ec2&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Module%20for%20Public%20Cloud%2012 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-obs-build&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Software%20Development%20Kit%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-rt_debug&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Real%20Time%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-rt&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Real%20Time%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-source&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Desktop%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-source&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-source&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%2012-LTSS pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-source&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%20for%20SAP%20Applications%2012 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-source&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%20for%20SAP%20Applications%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-source-rt&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Real%20Time%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-syms&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Desktop%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-syms&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-syms&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%2012-LTSS pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-syms&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%20for%20SAP%20Applications%2012 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-syms&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%20for%20SAP%20Applications%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-syms-rt&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Real%20Time%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-xen&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Desktop%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-xen&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-xen&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%2012-LTSS pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-xen&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%20for%20SAP%20Applications%2012 pkg:rpm/suse/kernel-xen&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%20for%20SAP%20Applications%2012%20SP1 pkg:rpm/suse/kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP1_Update_12&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Live%20Patching%2012 pkg:rpm/suse/kgraft-patch-SLE12_Update_19&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%2012-LTSS pkg:rpm/suse/kgraft-patch-SLE12_Update_19&distro=SUSE%20Linux%20Enterprise%20Server%20for%20SAP%20Applications%2012
< 3.12.69-60.30.1+ 32 more
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.30.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.30.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.61-52.66.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.61-52.66.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.3
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.30.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.30.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.61-52.66.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.61-52.66.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.30.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.61-52.66.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.61-52.66.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.30.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.61-52.66.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.61-52.66.1
- (no CPE)range: < 3.12.69-60.64.29.1
- (no CPE)range: < 1-4.1
- (no CPE)range: < 1-2.1
- (no CPE)range: < 1-2.1

Patches

Vulnerability mechanics

References

git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/nvdIssue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/8d4a2ec1e0b41b0cf9a0c5cd4511da7f8e4f3de2nvdIssue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
source.android.com/security/bulletin/2016-11-01.htmlnvdThird Party Advisory
www.securityfocus.com/bid/94138nvdThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.5.3nvdRelease Notes
rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2574.htmlnvd

News mentions

No linked articles in our index yet.

cvss	0.358
epss	0.002
exploit	0.000
kev	0.000
patch	0.000
ransomware	0.000