# CVE-2016-9951: Command injection in n/a

> Attackers can execute arbitrary commands via malicious crash files if users click Relaunch, requiring a patch to hide the button for external files.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Dec 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-666r-6mfg-455c, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-9951

## What is CVE-2016-9951?

CVE-2016-9951 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 Dec 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in Apport before 2.20.4. A malicious Apport crash file can contain a restart command in `RespawnCommand` or `ProcCmdline` fields. This command will be executed if a user clicks the Relaunch button on the Apport prompt from the malicious crash file. The fix is to only show the Relaunch button on Apport crash files generated by local systems. The Relaunch button will be hidden when crash files are opened directly in Apport-GTK.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-9951?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Apport Project Apport.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-9951?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-9951 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9951 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Apport 2.x (Ubuntu Desktop 12.10 < 16.04) - Local Code Execution (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2022-28657](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-28657/): Denial of service in Apport (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2018-6552](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-6552/): Apport treats the container PID as the global PID when /proc/<global_pid>/ is missing (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-14177](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14177/): Privilege escalation in Apport (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-14179](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14179/): Privilege escalation in Apport (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-14180](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14180/): Privilege escalation in Apport (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-9951 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-9951 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 Dec 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9951 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-2016-9951/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9951/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9951
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9951
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-9951

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9951/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.