Is CVE-2016-20037 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2016-20037 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2016-20037 be exploited remotely?

No. CVE-2016-20037 requires local access to exploit.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-20037?

CVE-2016-20037 has a CVSS score of 8.4 (HIGH).

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HIGH

CVE-2016-20037

CWE-787Published: March 28, 2026· Updated: Mar 30, 2026

8.4

CVSS v3.1

EPSS:0.01%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:1.7th

Official Description

xwpe 1.5.30a-2.1 and prior contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability that allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code by supplying overly long input strings that exceed buffer boundaries. Attackers can craft malicious command-line arguments with 262 bytes of junk data followed by shellcode to overwrite the instruction pointer and achieve code execution or denial of service.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2016-20037 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 8.4.

From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-787): Out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities can lead to data corruption, crashes, or arbitrary code execution.