Buffer overflow in curl
Priority MEDIUM 56CWE-120Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 7 fixed, 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-120 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
The 'globbing' feature in curl before version 7.51.0 has a flaw that leads to integer overflow and out-of-bounds read via user controlled input.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.04667 91st percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Red Hat: 1 advisoryRed Hat: 7 fixed, 5 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Curl Project | curl | 7.51.0 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- curl VendorThe Curl Project Affected 7.51.0 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2018:3558 Released 2018-11-13 · Red Hat rating Moderatehttpd24 security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) httpd24-curl-7.61.1-1.el6, httpd24-httpd-2.4.34-7.el6, httpd24-httpd-devel-2.4.34-7.el6 +11
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) httpd24-curl-7.61.1-1.el7, httpd24-httpd-2.4.34-7.el7, httpd24-httpd-devel-2.4.34-7.el7 +12
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.4) httpd24-curl-7.61.1-1.el7, httpd24-httpd-2.4.34-7.el7, httpd24-httpd-devel-2.4.34-7.el7 +12
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.5) httpd24-curl-7.61.1-1.el7, httpd24-httpd-2.4.34-7.el7, httpd24-httpd-devel-2.4.34-7.el7 +12
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.6) httpd24-curl-7.61.1-1.el7, httpd24-httpd-2.4.34-7.el7, httpd24-httpd-devel-2.4.34-7.el7 +12
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) httpd24-curl-7.61.1-1.el6, httpd24-httpd-2.4.34-7.el6, httpd24-httpd-devel-2.4.34-7.el6 +11
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) httpd24-curl-7.61.1-1.el7, httpd24-httpd-2.4.34-7.el7, httpd24-httpd-devel-2.4.34-7.el7 +12
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| .NET Core 1.0 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| .NET Core 1.1 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| .NET Core 2.0 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| .NET Core 2.1 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:3558 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:3558 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:3558 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.5) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:3558 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:3558 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:3558 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2018:3558 |
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat JBoss Core Services
- Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 3
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2016-8620
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-rrg6-wpjx-p5jf
References
More The Curl Project vulnerabilities
- TI-2019-02834 Stack-based buffer overflow in curl CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2018-12049 Heap-based buffer overflow in curl: CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2016-07084 Heap-based buffer overflow in curl CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2016-07081 The function `read_data()` in security.c in curl before version 7.51.0 is vulnerable to memory double free. CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2016-07080 Use after free in curl CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2018-12050 Use after free in curl CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2016-8620 · CVE Program
- CVE-2016-8620 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-rrg6-wpjx-p5jf · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2016-8620 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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