# CVE-2016-0727: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers with ntp account access can write arbitrary files via statistics cleanup, leading to privilege escalation on Ubuntu systems.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Apr 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-0727, GHSA-c7qx-m9c7-8wm7, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-0727

## What is CVE-2016-0727?

CVE-2016-0727 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 14 Apr 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The crontab script in the ntp package before 1:4.2.6.p3+dfsg-1ubuntu3.11 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, before 1:4.2.6.p5+dfsg-3ubuntu2.14.04.10 on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, on Ubuntu Wily, and before 1:4.2.8p4+dfsg-3ubuntu5.3 on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS allows local users with access to the ntp account to write to arbitrary files and consequently gain privileges via vectors involving statistics directory cleanup.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-0727?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-0727?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-0727 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-0727 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- NTP - Local Privilege Escalation (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-0727 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-0727 is a high-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 14 Apr 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-0727 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-0727/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-0727/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-0727
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-0727
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-0727

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-0727/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.