CVE-2016-2779

Publication date 7 February 2017

Last updated 25 August 2025

Ubuntu priority

Cvss 3 Severity Score

Description

runuser in util-linux allows local users to escape to the parent session via a crafted TIOCSTI ioctl call, which pushes characters to the terminal's input buffer.

Read the notes from the security team

Status

Show unmaintained releases

Package	Ubuntu Release	Status
util-linux	22.04 LTS jammy	Not affected
	21.10 impish	Not affected
	21.04 hirsute	Not affected
	20.10 groovy	Not affected
	20.04 LTS focal	Not affected
	19.10 eoan	Not affected
	19.04 disco	Not affected
	18.10 cosmic	Not affected
	18.04 LTS bionic	Not affected
	17.10 artful	Ignored end of life
	17.04 zesty	Ignored end of life
	16.10 yakkety	Ignored end of life
	16.04 LTS xenial	Ignored end of standard support, was needed
	15.10 wily	Ignored end of life
	14.04 LTS trusty	Not affected
	12.04 LTS precise	Not affected

Notes

mdeslaur

2.31 introduced a --pty option that can be used

eslerm

upstream revereted their patch backporting 2.31's optional --pty flag has high risk potential

Patch details

For informational purposes only. We recommend not to cherry-pick updates. How can I get the fixes?

Package	Patch details
util-linux	Upstream: 8e49250

Severity score breakdown

CVSS version: CVSS v3.0

Base score 7.8 · High

Base metrics

Parameter	Value
Attack vector	Local
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges required	Low
User interaction	None
Scope	Unchanged
Confidentiality impact	High
Integrity impact	High
Availability impact	High

Scores

Parameter	Value
Base score	7.8 · High
Exploitability score	-
Impact score	-

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H