# CVE-2016-8637: Information disclosure in dracut

> Local attackers can read sensitive data like encryption keys from initramfs images if early cpio is enabled, due to world-readable permissions.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Aug 2018
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-8637, GHSA-wf9g-696p-j466, MGASA-2016-0387, SUSE-SU-2017:0641-1, SUSE-SU-2017:0951-1, SUSE-SU-2017:2696-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-8637

## What is CVE-2016-8637?

CVE-2016-8637 is a medium-severity vulnerability in The Dracut Project dracut, published on 1 Aug 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A local information disclosure issue was found in dracut before 045 when generating initramfs images with world-readable permissions when 'early cpio' is used, such as when including microcode updates. Local attacker can use this to obtain sensitive information from these files, such as encryption keys or credentials.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor), CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-8637?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `dracut` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1 | All versions | 037-91.1 |
| `dracut` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | All versions | 044-108.1 |
| `dracut` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1 | All versions | 037-91.1 |
| `dracut` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 | All versions | 044-108.1 |
| `dracut` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12-LTSS | All versions | 037-51.31.1 |
| `dracut` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 | All versions | 044-108.1 |
| `dracut` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1 | All versions | 037-91.1 |
| `dracut` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | All versions | 044-108.1 |

Products: Dracut Project Dracut.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-8637?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-8637 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-8637 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in The Dracut Project dracut

- [CVE-2010-4176](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4176/): Misconfiguration in n/a (medium 4.0)
- [CVE-2015-0794](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-0794/): Path traversal in n/a (low 3.6)
- [CVE-2012-4453](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-4453/): Information disclosure in n/a (low 2.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-8637 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-8637 is a medium-severity vulnerability in The Dracut Project dracut, published on 1 Aug 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-8637 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: The Dracut Project dracut. 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-2016-8637/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8637/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-8637
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-8637
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-8637

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8637/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.