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CVE-2016-3697

25
FAUCET Score

CVE-2016-3697 describes a privilege escalation vulnerability in libcontainer/user/user.go, affecting runC before version 0.1.0 and Docker before 1.11.2. This flaw allows local users within a container to gain elevated privileges by exploiting how the software improperly interprets a numeric UID as a username in the password file. With a CVSS score of 7.8 (High), this vulnerability has a low attack complexity and requires local access, but can lead to high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. There is no evidence of active exploitation, public exploit code, or significant community discussion surrounding this CVE.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
<= 1.11.1CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:docker:docker:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
<= 0.0.9CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:linuxfoundation:runc:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
13.2CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:13.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 3.1

7.8HIGH

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

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
HIGH
Integrity Impact
HIGH
Availability Impact
HIGH
Exploitability Score
1.8
Impact Score
5.9
CvssVersion
3.1

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
0.39%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
31.5%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-25
Model: v2026.06.15
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0039 is in the 70th percentile among its peer group of 16,994 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.1 Reddit, 0.2 Bluesky, 0.1 Mastodon, and 0.2 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

No media coverage found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.3 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Patch Available

Vendor Patches (9)

github_advisorypatch availablevia nvd_reference
View patch
gopatch availablevia ghsa
Product: github.com/opencontainers/runcFixed in: 0.1.0
microsoftpatch availablevia msrc
Product: 16833-16820Fixed in: -
microsoftpatch availablevia msrc
Product: CBL Mariner 1.0 ARMFixed in: 0.4.1+azure-3
microsoftpatch availablevia msrc
Product: cm1 moby-buildx 0.4.1+azure-3 on CBL Mariner 1.0Fixed in: -
microsoftpatch availablevia msrc
Product: CBL Mariner 1.0 x64Fixed in: 0.4.1+azure-3
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 ExtrasFixed in: docker-0:1.9.1-40.el7
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 ExtrasFixed in: docker-0:1.10.3-57.el7
View patch
redhatno patchvia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 3Fixed in: Security

Vendor Advisories (4)

goGHSA-q3j5-32m5-58c2high

Privilege Elevation in runc

Dec 20, 2021
microsoft2021-Jul/CVE-2016-3697

CVE-2016-3697

Jul 13, 2021
microsoft2016-Jun/CVE-2016-3697Important

libcontainer/user/user.go in runC before 0.1.0 as used in Docker before 1.11.2 improperly treats a numeric UID as a potential username which allows local users to gain privileges via a numeric username in the password file in a container.

Jun 14, 2016
redhatCVE-2016-3697Moderate

docker: privilege escalation via confusion of usernames and UIDs

Apr 22, 2016

References

lists.opensuse.org / opensuse-updates/2016-05/msg00111.html
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
rhn.redhat.com / errata/RHSA-2016-1034.html
Third Party Advisory
rhn.redhat.com / errata/RHSA-2016-2634.html
Third Party Advisory
github.com / docker/docker/issues/21436
PatchThird Party Advisory
github.com / opencontainers/runc/commit/69af385de62ea68e2e608335cffbb0f4aa3db091
Third Party Advisory
github.com / opencontainers/runc/pull/708
Third Party Advisory
github.com / opencontainers/runc/releases/tag/v0.1.0
PatchThird Party Advisory
security.gentoo.org / glsa/201612-28
Third Party Advisory