# CVE-2016-2538: Integer overflow in n/a

> Local guest administrators can crash QEMU or leak host memory via integer overflows in the USB Net device emulator.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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:** 16 Jun 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-2538, GHSA-fqw6-89c5-2q6q, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-2538

## What is CVE-2016-2538?

CVE-2016-2538 is a high-severity vulnerability in Qemu Qemu, published on 16 Jun 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Multiple integer overflows in the USB Net device emulator (hw/usb/dev-network.c) in QEMU before 2.5.1 allow local guest OS administrators to cause a denial of service (QEMU process crash) or obtain sensitive host memory information via a remote NDIS control message packet that is mishandled in the (1) rndis_query_response, (2) rndis_set_response, or (3) usb_net_handle_dataout function.

Weakness: CWE-189

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-2538?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Qemu Qemu.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-2538?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-2538 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-2538 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Qemu Qemu

- [CVE-2022-36648](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-36648/): Null dereference in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2015-8556](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-8556/): Race condition in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-3616](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3616/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2019-12928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12928/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-12929](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12929/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-2538 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-2538 is a high-severity vulnerability in Qemu Qemu, published on 16 Jun 2016. 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-2016-2538 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Qemu Qemu. 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-2016-2538/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2538/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-2538
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-2538
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-2538

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2538/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.