{"id":"CVE-2016-5195","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2016-5195"],"related":[],"title":"Linux Kernel: Linux Kernel Race Condition Vulnerability","description":"Race condition in mm/gup.c in the Linux kernel 2.x through 4.x before 4.8.3 allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging incorrect handling of a copy-on-write (COW) feature to write to a read-only memory mapping, as exploited in the wild in October 2016, aka \"Dirty COW.\"","summary":"This is Dirty COW, a race condition in the Linux kernel's memory handling code (mm/gup.c) that lets a local user write to read-only memory. An attacker with a local shell gets root privileges.","severity":"high","cvss":7.2,"epss":0.83524,"exploited":true,"exploited_at":"2022-03-03T00:00:00+00:00","products":[{"name":"Linux Kernel","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["exploited","infrastructure","linux","multi-user-servers","self-hosted","shared-hosting"],"not_affected_if":["patched-kernel","single-user-machine-with-no-local-access"],"how_to_check":"Run uname -r and compare the kernel version against your distribution's security advisory for CVE-2016-5195.","fix":"Update the kernel to a vendor build that includes the CVE-2016-5195 patch and reboot.","status":"open","published_at":"2016-11-10T21:59:00+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T21:24:00+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.8,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T21:24:00Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"Update the kernel to a vendor build that includes the CVE-2016-5195 patch and reboot.\nunknown","reach":"local","impact":"high","summary":"This is Dirty COW, a race condition in the Linux kernel's memory handling code (mm/gup.c) that lets a local user write to read-only memory. An attacker with a local shell gets root privileges.","category":"infrastructure","who_cares":["linux","self-hosted","shared-hosting","multi-user-servers"],"confidence":0.8,"needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"Local user gains root and takes full control of the machine.","analyst_note":"Confirm exact fixed kernel versions per distro from the vendor advisories; sources give only the CVE and KEV status.","how_to_check":"Run uname -r and compare the kernel version against your distribution's security advisory for CVE-2016-5195.\nunknown","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["patched-kernel","single-user-machine-with-no-local-access"],"user_interaction":"no","needs_special_setup":"no","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.000472,"input_tokens":2804,"output_tokens":383,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-2016':9A,12A '-5195':10A,13A '2':73C '2016':114C '4':76C '4.8.3':79C 'aka':115C 'allow':80C 'attack':57B 'code':43B 'condit':6A,35B,66C 'copi':93C 'copy-on-writ':92C 'cow':32B,96C,117C 'cve':8A,11A 'dirti':31B,116C 'exploit':16B,108C 'featur':97C 'gain':84C 'get':62B 'handl':42B,89C 'host':25B,28B 'incorrect':88C 'infrastructur':17B 'kernel':2A,4A,15A,39B,72C 'let':46B 'leverag':87C 'linux':1A,3A,14A,18B,38B,71C 'local':48B,60B,81C 'map':106C 'memori':41B,55B,105C 'mm/gup.c':44B,68C 'multi':20B 'multi-user-serv':19B 'octob':113C 'privileg':64B,85C 'race':5A,34B,65C 'read':53B,103C 'read-on':52B,102C 'root':63B 'self':24B 'self-host':23B 'server':22B 'share':27B 'shared-host':26B 'shell':61B 'user':21B,49B,82C 'vulner':7A 'wild':111C 'write':50B,95C,99C 'x':74C,77C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":null,"verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2016-11-10T21:59:00+00:00","kev":{"dateAdded":"2022-03-03","dueDate":"2022-03-24","requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Unknown"},"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"nvd@nist.gov","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"kev","external_id":"CVE-2016-5195","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2016-5195","severity":null,"published_at":"2022-03-03T00:00:00+00:00","modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-25T13:39:32+00:00","note":null},{"source":"epss","external_id":"CVE-2016-5195","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2016-5195","severity":null,"published_at":null,"modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","note":null},{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2016-5195","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5195","severity":null,"published_at":"2016-11-10T21:59:00+00:00","modified_at":"2026-06-17T00:48:56+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}