# CVE-2016-1901: Integer overflow in n/a

> Remote attackers can trigger a buffer overflow via a large Content-Length header in CGit, potentially leading to code execution or denial of service.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 Jan 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-1901, GHSA-r786-p84w-55j2

## What is CVE-2016-1901?

CVE-2016-1901 is a critical vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 20 Jan 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Integer overflow in the authenticate_post function in CGit before 0.12 allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact via a large value in the Content-Length HTTP header, which triggers a buffer overflow.

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-1901?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Cgit Project Cgit, Fedoraproject Fedora.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-1901?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-1901 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1901 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fedoraproject Fedora

- [CVE-2018-14912](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-14912/): Path traversal in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2016-1899](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1899/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (low 3.7)
- [CVE-2016-1900](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1900/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (low 3.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-1901 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-1901 is a critical vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 20 Jan 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1901 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Fedoraproject Fedora. 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-2016-1901/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1901/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1901
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1901
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-1901

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1901/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.