# CVE-2016-9888: Null dereference in n/a

> Attackers can cause a denial of service via a crafted TAR file exploiting a null pointer dereference in the GNOME Structured File Library.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Dec 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2016-9888, DEBIAN-CVE-2016-9888, DLA-2183-1, DLA-740-1, GHSA-7j73-f8pw-v3wq, MGASA-2016-0427, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-9888

## What is CVE-2016-9888?

CVE-2016-9888 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Dec 2016. 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

An error within the "tar_directory_for_file()" function (gsf-infile-tar.c) in GNOME Structured File Library before 1.14.41 can be exploited to trigger a Null pointer dereference and subsequently cause a crash via a crafted TAR file.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-9888?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gnome Libgsf.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-9888?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-9888 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9888 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2024-36474](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-36474/): Integer overflow in G Structured File Library (libgsf) (high 8.4)
- [CVE-2024-42415](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42415/): Integer overflow in G Structured File Library (libgsf) (high 8.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-9888 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-9888 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Dec 2016. 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-2016-9888 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2016-9888/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9888/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9888
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9888
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-9888

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9888/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.