# CVE-2016-7444: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Attackers can bypass certificate validation in GnuTLS by exploiting unverified serial lengths in OCSP responses, potentially allowing the use of revoked or invalid certificates.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Sep 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2016-7444, DEBIAN-CVE-2016-7444, GHSA-3ccg-r3xv-q4cg, MGASA-2016-0326, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-7444

## What is CVE-2016-7444?

CVE-2016-7444 is a high-severity vulnerability in Gnu Gnutls, published on 27 Sep 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The gnutls_ocsp_resp_check_crt function in lib/x509/ocsp.c in GnuTLS before 3.4.15 and 3.5.x before 3.5.4 does not verify the serial length of an OCSP response, which might allow remote attackers to bypass an intended certificate validation mechanism via vectors involving trailing bytes left by gnutls_malloc.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-7444?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gnu Gnutls.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-7444?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-7444 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-7444 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Gnu Gnutls

- [CVE-2008-1948](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-1948/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2017-5334](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5334/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-5336](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5336/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-5337](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5337/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2008-1949](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-1949/): Null dereference in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-7444 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-7444 is a high-severity vulnerability in Gnu Gnutls, published on 27 Sep 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-7444 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Gnu Gnutls. 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-2016-7444/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7444/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-7444
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-7444
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-7444

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7444/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.