NVD / CVE Program· CNA canonical

CVE-2016-1575: The overlayfs implementation in the Linux kernel through 4.5.2 does not properly maintain POSIX ACL xattr data, which allows local users to…

HighCVSS 7.8 · v3.1—Proof of concept Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 31/100)

Public proof-of-concept code exists (Exploit-DB); there is no record of exploitation in the wild.
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.92% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 60.9% of all records.
Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
Fixed version: linux (Debian:12) 4.5.1-1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to linux (Debian:12) 4.5.1-1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

The overlayfs implementation in the Linux kernel through 4.5.2 does not properly maintain POSIX ACL xattr data, which allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging a group-writable setgid directory.

Local privilege escalation

Published: May 2, 2016
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
EPSS: 0.9% · 60th percentile
CWE: CWE-269

Report tools

JSON

Action score

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS: 31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
CISA KEV: 0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS: 0 / 30 · 0.9%

Get told when this record changes

Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
Proof of concept exists, no weaponized module
A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

We use this product, ask for help

Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

Vendor	Product	CPE
linux	linux kernel	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel
canonical	ubuntu core	cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_core
canonical	ubuntu linux	cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux
canonical	ubuntu touch	cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_touch

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

canonical ubuntu core15.04
canonical ubuntu linux12.04
canonical ubuntu linux14.04
canonical ubuntu linux15.10
canonical ubuntu linux16.04
canonical ubuntu linux16.10
canonical ubuntu touch15.04
linux linux kernelup to 4.5.2 inclusive

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

Ecosystem	Package	Affected range	Fix
Debian:12	linux	before 4.5.1-1	4.5.1-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV
90Now
CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe…KEV
89Now
CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV
85Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

← EarlierCVE-2015-8830May 2, 2016 · Integer overflow in the aio_setup_single_vector function in fs/aio.c in the Linux kernel 4.0 allows local users to cause a denial of…
31Monitor
← EarlierCVE-2015-8839May 2, 2016 · Multiple race conditions in the ext4 filesystem implementation in the Linux kernel before 4.5 allow local users to cause a denial of…
20Monitor
Later →CVE-2016-1576May 2, 2016 · The overlayfs implementation in the Linux kernel through 4.5.2 does not properly restrict the mount namespace, which allows local users to…
31Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / package	Fixed version	Source
debian:linux	4.5.1-1 · Debian:12	Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

Proof of concept available

A public proof of concept or detection signature exists. Exploit knowledge is out there; don't delay patching.

Evidence

Exploit-DB entry ×1

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
Source	Kind	Date
Exploit-DB entry	local	2016-11-22

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

PublishedMay 2, 2016
First PoCNov 22, 2016+204 d
TodayNov 15, 2026+3849 d

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

git.kernel.orgpatch

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
A low-privileged account is enough.
No user action is required.
No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality: high · data can be read
Integrity: high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability: high · the service can be disrupted

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

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

To simplify setup, a service account is granted broad, cluster-wide permissions. The principle of least privilege is skipped during installation.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-269 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

yaml

1kind: ClusterRole
2rules:
3  - apiGroups: ["*"]
4    resources: ["*"]
5    verbs: ["*"]

Fixed

yaml

1kind: Role
2metadata:
3  namespace: lodos-system
4rules:
5  - apiGroups: ["apps"]
6    resources: ["deployments"]
7    verbs: ["get", "list", "update"]

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Attack patterns (CAPEC)

ATT&CK techniques

Abuse Elevation Control MechanismT1548

Change log (1)

Fix✗ → ✓Sep 28, 2026, 10:48 PM UTC

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=e9f57ebcba563e0cd532926cab83c92bb4d79360

Show all references (4 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records