CVE-2016-5180 Memory corruption in n/a
Remote attackers can cause denial of service or execute arbitrary code via a heap-based buffer overflow in the c-ares DNS library.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2016-5180?
CVE-2016-5180 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux, published on 3 Oct 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Heap-based buffer overflow in the ares_create_query function in c-ares 1.x before 1.12.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds write) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a hostname with an escaped trailing dot.
Weakness: CWE-787
Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-5180?
It affects 5 products.
Linux distribution packages (16)
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
nodejs4 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Web and Scripting 12 | All versions | 4.6.1-11.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 | All versions | 1.7.4-7.9.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 11 SP4 | All versions | 1.7.4-7.9.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4 | All versions | 1.7.4-7.9.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
libcares2 SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.9.1-5.1 |
c-ares openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 1.12.0-1.1 |
Products include C-Ares C-Ares, C-Ares Project C-Ares, Canonical Ubuntu Linux, Debian Debian Linux, Nodejs Node.js.
How do I fix CVE-2016-5180?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2016-5180 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-5180 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Public exploit code: 3 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Other vulnerabilities in Canonical Ubuntu Linux
Sources
Also known as ALPINE-CVE-2016-5180, CLSA-2025-1757608893, DEBIAN-CVE-2016-5180, DLA-648-1, DSA-3682-1, ECHO-b5cc-eb5b-e937 and 8 more.