# CVE-2016-3139: Null dereference in n/a

> A physically proximate attacker can crash the Linux kernel via a crafted USB device descriptor, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 Apr 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-3139, GHSA-q835-79mw-g5c8

## What is CVE-2016-3139?

CVE-2016-3139 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Apr 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The wacom_probe function in drivers/input/tablet/wacom_sys.c in the Linux kernel before 3.17 allows physically proximate attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) via a crafted endpoints value in a USB device descriptor.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-3139?

It affects 9 products.


Products: Linux kernel, Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Debuginfo, Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop, Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Live Patching, Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud, Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Real Time Extension, Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Server, Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit, Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-3139?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-3139 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-3139 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Linux Kernel 3.10.0 (CentOS / RHEL 7.1) - 'Wacom' Multiple Nullpointer Dereferences (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-3139 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-3139 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Apr 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-2016-3139 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2016-3139/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3139/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-3139
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-3139
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-3139

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3139/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.