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Weekly Signal
Live intelligence Updated 20 Aug 2026 · 23:28 UTC

Canonical, Debian, Fedoraproject +4 more · Ubuntu Linux, Debian Linux, Fedora +16 more

CVE-2016-5195

Linux Kernel Race Condition Vulnerability

Recommended action

Validate affected assets and exposure now, then remediate on an accelerated schedule. Oracle Security patch Cpujul2018 4258247

View response plan
CVSS7.0
EPSS83.5%
KEVYes
ExploitationConfirmed exploitation
RemediationExplicit patch identified ↓

Assessment

Why it matters

CISA lists this vulnerability as known to be exploited; exploitation is confirmed; EPSS is 83.5%; technical severity is CVSS 7.0.

Race condition in mm/gup.c in the Linux kernel 2.x through 4.x before 4.8.3 allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging incorrect handling of a copy-on-write (COW) feature to write to a read-only memory mapping, as exploited in the wild in October 2016, aka "Dirty COW."

Who should care

  • Teams operating Ubuntu Linux, Debian Linux, Fedora +16 more
  • Vulnerability and exposure management teams
  • Security operations teams monitoring exploitation activity

Response plan

What I would do

  1. Confirm whether Ubuntu Linux, Debian Linux, Fedora +16 more is present in the environment.
  2. Identify affected versions and establish whether vulnerable services are exposed or reachable.
  3. Oracle Security patch Cpujul2018 4258247
  4. Review relevant security telemetry for evidence of attempted or successful exploitation.
  5. Document the remediation decision and track it to verified completion.

Treatment intelligence

Remediation intelligence

Not yet verified

Vendor sources are listed before government and third-party guidance. Confirm product applicability and change prerequisites before deployment.

Verification noteAutomated link verification has not completed for this guidance yet.

Patch

Upgrade

Advisory

Required Action

Technical details

CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE
CWE-362
Affected versions
Canonical Ubuntu Linux (Version 12.04 | Version 14.04 | Version 16.04 | Version 16.10); Debian Debian Linux (Version 7.0 | Version 8.0); Fedoraproject Fedora (Version 23 | Version 24 | Version 25); Linux Kernel; Linux Linux Kernel (Start Including 2.6.22, End Excluding 3.2.83 | Start Including 3.3, End Excluding 3.4.113 | Start Including 3.5, End Excluding 3.10.104 | Start Including 3.11, End Excluding 3.12.66); Netapp Cloud Backup (Version -); Netapp Hci Storage Nodes (Version -); Netapp Oncommand Balance (Version -)
Fixed versions
Linux Linux Kernel (Fixed from 3.2.83, 3.4.113, 3.10.104, 3.12.66, 3.16.38, 3.18.44, 4.1.35, 4.4.26, 4.7.9, 4.8.3); Paloaltonetworks Pan-os (Fixed from 7.0.14, 7.1.8)
Published
10 November 2016
Attack vector
Local
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None

Signal timeline

  1. CVE published
  2. Added to CISA KEV
  3. Latest EPSS score: 83.5%
  4. Signal calculated at 80

External references

Live public intelligence This assessment combines public-source evidence. Validate the affected product, version and exposure against your own environment before making a risk decision.