# CVE-2016-4581: Null dereference in n/a

> Local attackers can cause a denial of service via crafted mount system calls due to a NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel mount propagation logic.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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:** 23 May 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-4581, GHSA-m632-mj54-c945, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-4581

## What is CVE-2016-4581?

CVE-2016-4581 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 23 May 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

fs/pnode.c in the Linux kernel before 4.5.4 does not properly traverse a mount propagation tree in a certain case involving a slave mount, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and OOPS) via a crafted series of mount system calls.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-4581?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Linux kernel, Oracle Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-4581?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-4581 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-4581 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux

- [CVE-2020-11651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11651/): SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-7247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7247/): OpenSMTPD Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-16928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16928/): Exim Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2018-6789](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6789/): Exim Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2015-2590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2590/): Oracle Java SE and Java SE Embedded Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-4581 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-4581 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 23 May 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-2016-4581 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux. 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-2016-4581/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4581/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4581
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4581
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-4581

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4581/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.