# CVE-2016-1252: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Man-in-the-middle attackers can bypass APT repository signature validation due to improper error handling, allowing installation of unsigned packages.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 5 Dec 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-1252, DSA-3733-1, GHSA-53rm-7gr9-9hfx, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-1252, USN-3156-1

## What is CVE-2016-1252?

CVE-2016-1252 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 5 Dec 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The apt package in Debian jessie before 1.0.9.8.4, in Debian unstable before 1.4~beta2, in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS before 1.0.1ubuntu2.17, in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS before 1.2.15ubuntu0.2, and in Ubuntu 16.10 before 1.3.2ubuntu0.1 allows man-in-the-middle attackers to bypass a repository-signing protection mechanism by leveraging improper error handling when validating InRelease file signatures.

Weakness: CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-1252?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Advanced Package Tool.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-1252?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-1252 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-1252 exists.

Public exploit code:

- APT - Repository Signing Bypass via Memory Allocation Failure (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-2016-1252 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-1252 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 5 Dec 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-1252 exists.

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-2016-1252/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1252/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1252
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1252
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-1252

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1252/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.