# CVE-2016-9540: Memory corruption in n/a

> An out-of-bounds write in libtiff allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via crafted tiled images.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Nov 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-9540, GHSA-5m38-69cg-mcjw, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-9540

## What is CVE-2016-9540?

CVE-2016-9540 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Libtiff Libtiff, published on 22 Nov 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

tools/tiffcp.c in libtiff 4.0.6 has an out-of-bounds write on tiled images with odd tile width versus image width. Reported as MSVR 35103, aka "cpStripToTile heap-buffer-overflow."

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-9540?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Libtiff Libtiff.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-9540?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-9540 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9540 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Libtiff Libtiff

- [CVE-2004-1308](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-1308/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-0929](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0929/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2025-61144](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-61144/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-9533](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9533/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-9534](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9534/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-9540 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-9540 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Libtiff Libtiff, published on 22 Nov 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-2016-9540 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Libtiff Libtiff. 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-2016-9540/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9540/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9540
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9540
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-9540

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9540/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.