# CVE-2016-20022: Memory corruption in n/a

> An attacker with physical access can trigger memory corruption in the Linux kernel via a malicious USB device, potentially leading to code execution or system crash.

- **Severity:** High 8.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 13 Mar 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-20022, GHSA-vfjj-rqvw-qh77, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-20022

## What is CVE-2016-20022?

CVE-2016-20022 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 27 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel before 4.8, usb_parse_endpoint in drivers/usb/core/config.c does not validate the wMaxPacketSize field of an endpoint descriptor. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the supplier.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-20022?


## How do I fix CVE-2016-20022?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-20022 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-20022 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-20022 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-20022 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in n/a, published on 27 Jun 2024. 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-2016-20022 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2016-20022/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-20022/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-20022
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-20022
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-20022

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-20022/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.