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CVE-2017-16525

22
FAUCET Score

CVE-2017-16525 describes a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's USB serial console driver, affecting various Linux distributions including Canonical and Debian. A local attacker with physical access could trigger a system crash or potentially achieve further impact by connecting a specially crafted USB device. Rated 6.6 (Medium) on CVSS, this vulnerability requires physical proximity and low privileges to exploit, leading to high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. There is no evidence of active exploitation, public exploit code (Metasploit, Nuclei, ExploitDB), or significant community discussion or media coverage surrounding this CVE.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
>= 2.6.18, < 3.2.96CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
>= 3.3, < 3.10.108CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
>= 3.11, < 3.16.51CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
>= 3.17, < 3.18.76CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
>= 3.19, < 4.1.46CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 3.1

6.6MEDIUM

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

Attack Vector
PHYSICAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
HIGH
Integrity Impact
HIGH
Availability Impact
HIGH
Exploitability Score
0.7
Impact Score
5.9
CvssVersion
3.1

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
0.39%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
32.0%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-28
Model: v2026.06.15
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0039 is in the 49th percentile among its peer group of 170 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.1 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 0.3 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Patch Available

Vendor Patches (4)

github_advisorypatch availablevia nvd_reference
View patch
redhatend of lifevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7Fixed in: kernel
redhatend of lifevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7Fixed in: kernel-alt
redhatend of lifevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7Fixed in: kernel-rt

Vendor Advisories (1)

redhatCVE-2017-16525Low

kernel: Use-after-free in usb_serial_console_disconnect()

Oct 4, 2017

References

github.com / torvalds/linux/commit/299d7572e46f98534033a9e65973f13ad1ce9047
PatchThird Party Advisory
github.com / torvalds/linux/commit/bd998c2e0df0469707503023d50d46cf0b10c787
PatchThird Party Advisory
groups.google.com / d/msg/syzkaller/cMACrmo1x0k/4KhRoUgABAAJ
Third Party Advisory
lists.debian.org / debian-lts-announce/2017/12/msg00004.html
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
usn.ubuntu.com / 3583-1
Third Party Advisory
usn.ubuntu.com / 3583-2
Third Party Advisory
securityfocus.com / bid/102028
Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry