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CVE-2017-16611

21
FAUCET Score

CVE-2017-16611 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability affecting libXfont versions prior to 1.5.4 and libXfont2 prior to 2.0.3, impacting various Linux distributions including Debian and Ubuntu. A local attacker can exploit this flaw to open files as root, potentially triggering system mechanisms like tape rewinds or watchdogs. Rated 5.5 MEDIUM, the attack requires local access with low privileges and has a high impact on availability, though confidentiality and integrity are not directly affected. There is no evidence of active exploitation, public exploit code, or significant community discussion surrounding this vulnerability.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
8.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
9.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
14.04CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
16.04CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
17.04CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:17.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 3.1

5.5MEDIUM

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

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
NONE
Integrity Impact
NONE
Availability Impact
HIGH
Exploitability Score
1.8
Impact Score
3.6
CvssVersion
3.1

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
0.42%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
34.3%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-23
Model: v2026.06.15
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0042 is in the 89th percentile among its peer group of 15,932 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.0 Reddit, 0.0 Bluesky, 0.0 Mastodon, and 0.1 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

No media coverage found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.1 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Patch Available

Vendor Patches (11)

ubuntupatch availablevia ubuntu_usn
Product: libxfont (bionic)Fixed in: 1:2.0.3-1ubuntu0.1~esm2
ubuntupatch availablevia ubuntu_usn
Product: libxfont (focal)Fixed in: 1:2.0.3-1ubuntu0.20.04.1~esm2
ubuntupatch availablevia ubuntu_usn
Product: libxfont (jammy)Fixed in: 1:2.0.5-1ubuntu0.2
ubuntupatch availablevia ubuntu_usn
Product: libxfont (noble)Fixed in: 1:2.0.6-1+deb13u1build0.24.04.2
ubuntupatch availablevia ubuntu_usn
Product: libxfont (resolute)Fixed in: 1:2.0.6-2ubuntu0.2
ubuntupatch availablevia ubuntu_usn
Product: libxfont (trusty)Fixed in: 1:1.4.7-1ubuntu0.4+esm2
ubuntupatch availablevia ubuntu_usn
Product: libxfont (xenial)Fixed in: 1:1.5.1-1ubuntu0.16.04.4+esm2
redhatend of lifevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5Fixed in: libXfont
redhatend of lifevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6Fixed in: libXfont
redhatend of lifevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7Fixed in: libXfont
redhatend of lifevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7Fixed in: libXfont2

Vendor Advisories (2)

ubuntuUSN-8560-1

libXfont vulnerabilities

Jul 20, 2026
redhatCVE-2017-16611Low

libXfont: User can trigger arbitrary file read by X server causing a DoS

Nov 25, 2017

References

bugzilla.suse.com / show_bug.cgi
Issue TrackingTool SignatureVDB Entry
security.cucumberlinux.com / security/details.php
Third Party Advisory
lists.debian.org / debian-lts-announce/2022/01/msg00028.html
Issue TrackingMailing ListThird Party Advisory
marc.info
PatchThird Party Advisory
marc.info
PatchThird Party Advisory
security.gentoo.org / glsa/201801-10
Third Party Advisory
openwall.com / lists/oss-security/2017/11/28/7
Mailing ListPatchThird Party Advisory
ubuntu.com / usn/USN-3500-1
Third Party Advisory