# CVE-2016-2779: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escape restricted sessions to the parent terminal via a crafted ioctl call in util-linux, requiring OS-level patching.

- **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:** 7 Feb 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-2779, GHSA-7q5h-997q-c4x2, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-2779

## What is CVE-2016-2779?

CVE-2016-2779 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Feb 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

runuser in util-linux allows local users to escape to the parent session via a crafted TIOCSTI ioctl call, which pushes characters to the terminal's input buffer.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-2779?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Kernel Util-Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-2779?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-2779 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-2779 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2015-5224](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-5224/): Race condition in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2018-7738](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-7738/): Command injection in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2026-13595](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13595/): Util-linux: util-linux: heap use-after-free in libblkid nested partition probing (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2020-21583](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-21583/): Command injection in n/a (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2022-0563](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0563/): Information disclosure in util-linux (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-2779 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-2779 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Feb 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-2016-2779 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-2016-2779/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2779/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-2779
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-2779
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-2779

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2779/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.