HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2016-1981

MEDIUM

CVE-2016-1981

CWE-835Published: December 29, 2016· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

5.5

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) built with the e1000 NIC emulation support is vulnerable to an infinite loop issue. It could occur while processing data via transmit or receive descriptors, provided the initial receive/transmit descriptor head (TDH/RDH) is set outside the allocated descriptor buffer. A privileged user inside guest could use this flaw to crash the QEMU instance resulting in DoS.

Technical Analysis

CVE-2016-1981 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 5.5.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges Req.Low

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityNone

IntegrityNone

AvailabilityHigh

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

Affected Vendors & Products

Debian1 product(s)

debian linux

qemu1 product(s)

qemu

Source: NVD CPE · 3 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time

Offensive Security exploit database

GitHub PoC Search

Community PoC repositories

Rapid7 / Metasploit

Metasploit module search

Security advisories & exploits

Official NIST entry

CVE Program entry

External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

PATCHhttps://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2016-01/msg03454.html

PATCHhttps://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2016-01/msg03454.html

ADVISORYhttp://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2585.html

ADVISORYhttp://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3469

ADVISORYhttp://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3470

ADVISORYhttp://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3471

ADVISORYhttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/19/10

ADVISORYhttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/22/1

ADVISORYhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/81549

ADVISORYhttps://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201604-01

ADVISORYhttp://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2585.html

ADVISORYhttp://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3469

ADVISORYhttp://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3470

ADVISORYhttp://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3471

ADVISORYhttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/19/10

ADVISORYhttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/22/1

ADVISORYhttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/81549

ADVISORYhttps://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201604-01

All References (20)

→

http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2585.htmlThird Party Advisory

→

http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3469Third Party Advisory

→

http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3470Third Party Advisory

→

http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3471Third Party Advisory

→

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/19/10Mailing List · Third Party Advisory

→

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/22/1Mailing List · Third Party Advisory

→

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/81549Third Party Advisory · VDB Entry

→

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1298570Issue Tracking

→

https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2016-01/msg03454.htmlPatch · Vendor Advisory

→

https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201604-01Third Party Advisory

→

http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2585.htmlThird Party Advisory

→

http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3469Third Party Advisory

→

http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3470Third Party Advisory

→

http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3471Third Party Advisory

→

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/19/10Mailing List · Third Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2016-1981

CVSS Score5.5 / 10

SeverityMEDIUM

WeaknessCWE-835

CISA KEVNo

Affected2 vendor(s)

PublishedDec 29, 2016

Related CVEs (CWE-835)

Recommended Actions

→Apply vendor patches immediately
→Monitor CVE-2016-1981 in threat intel feeds
→Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts

Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.

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