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NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

CVE-2016-3977: Heap-based buffer overflow in util/gif2rgb.c in gif2rgb in giflib 5.1.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application…

MediumCVSS 5.5 · v3.0—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 23/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 2.1% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 82% of all records.
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. No account or password is required. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: giflib (Alpine:v3.4) 5.1.4-r0; giflib (Debian:12) 5.1.4-3; giflib (openSUSE:Leap 15.3) 5.2.1-150000.4.8.1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to giflib (Alpine:v3.4) 5.1.4-r0; giflib (Debian:12) 5.1.4-3; giflib (openSUSE:Leap 15.3) 5.2.1-150000.4.8.1 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

Heap-based buffer overflow in util/gif2rgb.c in gif2rgb in giflib 5.1.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via the background color index in a GIF file.

Published
Apr 21, 2016
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
2.1% · 82th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

23

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 2.1%

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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

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When you'll hear from us

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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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.

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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.

VendorProduct
opensuseopensuse
giflib projectgiflib

Affected versions

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

  • giflib project giflibup to 5.1.2 inclusive
  • opensuse opensuse13.2

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Alpine:v3.4giflibbefore 5.1.4-r05.1.4-r0
Debian:12giflibbefore 5.1.4-35.1.4-3
openSUSE:Leap 15.3giflibbefore 5.2.1-150000.4.8.15.2.1-150000.4.8.1
openSUSE:Tumbleweedgiflibbefore 5.1.4-1.125.1.4-1.12
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12giflibbefore 5.0.5-12.15.0.5-12.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3giflibbefore 5.2.1-150000.4.8.15.2.1-150000.4.8.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4giflibbefore 4.1.6-21.14.1.6-21.1

Same product

opensuse: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2013-4115Buffer overflow in the idnsALookup function in dns_internal.cc in Squid 3.2 through 3.2.11 and 3.3 through 3.3.6 allows remote attackers to…
    43Plan
  • CVE-2015-7805Heap-based buffer overflow in libsndfile 1.0.25 allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact via the headindex value in the header in…
    41Plan
  • CVE-2015-5957Buffer overflow in the DumpSysVar function in var.c in Remind before 3.1.15 allows attackers to have unspecified impact via a long name.
    41Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2015-8842Apr 20, 2016 · tmpfiles.d/systemd.conf in systemd before 229 uses weak permissions for /var/log/journal/%m/system.journal, which allows local users to…
    13Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2016-3190Apr 21, 2016 · The fill_xrgb32_lerp_opaque_spans function in cairo-image-compositor.c in cairo before 1.14.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of…
    31Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2016-1663May 14, 2016 · The SerializedScriptValue::transferArrayBuffers function in WebKit/Source/bindings/core/v8/SerializedScriptValue.cpp in the V8 bindings in…
    35Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

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

Product / packageFixed versionSource
alpine:giflib5.1.4-r0 · Alpine:v3.4Package registry (OSV)
debian:giflib5.1.4-3 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:giflib5.2.1-150000.4.8.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.3Package registry (OSV)
suse:giflib4.1.6-21.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4Package registry (OSV)
suse:giflib5.2.1-150000.4.8.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

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.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Not on record for this CVE: patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-119 · Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

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

ATT&CK techniques

—

References

Show all references (8 more)

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

All records