CVE-2016-1981: debian debian_linux Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2016-1981 is a medium (CVSS 5.5) Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition vulnerability in debian debian_linux. EPSS estimates a 0.44% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 38.6% of scored vulnerabilities.
Not severe (CVSS 5.5, local access); no exploitation reported by the 5 checked sources
Source freshness unavailable
How is this decided?Advisory lineage
Upstream 0 · Downstream 16 · Related 11Timeline
- 29-12-2016PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 05-08-2024Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) built with the e1000 NIC emulation support is vulnerable to an infinite loop issue. It could occur while processing data via transmit or receive descriptors, provided the initial receive/transmit descriptor head (TDH/RDH) is set outside the allocated descriptor buffer. A privileged user inside guest could use this flaw to crash the QEMU instance resulting in DoS.
CVSS metrics
5 scores · 3 sources · 3 versions- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated5.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated5.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS trend
Probability
0.44%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
39%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
No change 0.00 pp
From 0.44% on 04-10-2026
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogs
CISA KEVNot in the CISA KEV catalog.
ENISA CNWNot in the ENISA CNW catalog.
CIRCLNot in the CIRCL catalog.
Public exploits
0 foundNo public exploits indexed.
Weaknesses
CWE · root causeAffected systems
Known conditions: local access, low-privilege account, no user interaction (CVSS vector). Other conditions: not stated in public data.
Debian2 products
- qemu< 1:2.5+dfsg-5
- debian_linuxEOL7.0 | 8.0
Qemu1 product
- qemu≤ 2.5.1.1
Ubuntu1 product
- qemu< 2.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.22
3 vendors · 4 products
References
14 links- lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2016-01/msg03454.htmlMailing ListX Refsource MLISTPatchVendor Advisory
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/19/10Mailing ListX Refsource MLISTThird Party AdvisoryREPORT