Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2016-9644

high Nessus Plugin ID 249445

Synopsis

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed with a vulnerability that the vendor indicates will not be patched.

Description

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied patch available.

- The __get_user_asm_ex macro in arch/x86/include/asm/uaccess.h in the Linux kernel 4.4.22 through 4.4.28 contains extended asm statements that are incompatible with the exception table, which allows local users to obtain root access on non-SMEP platforms via a crafted application. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of incorrect backporting of the CVE-2016-9178 patch to older kernels. (CVE-2016-9644)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.

Solution

There is no known solution at this time.

See Also

https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9644

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 249445

File Name: unpatched_CVE_2016_9644.nasl

Version: 1.1

Type: local

Agent: unix

Family: Misc.

Published: 8/15/2025

Updated: 8/15/2025

Supported Sensors: Frictionless Assessment AWS, Frictionless Assessment Azure, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Nessus Agent, Agentless Assessment, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 5.9

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 9.3

Temporal Score: 6.9

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2016-9644

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.8

Temporal Score: 6.8

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

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:-:lts

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/cpu, global_settings/vendor_unpatched, Host/OS/identifier

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Vulnerability Publication Date: 11/27/2016

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2016-9644