Security Resilience

CVE-2016-3714

Canonical Ubuntu Linux 12.04 … 16.04

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoC
Published
05 May 2016
Modified
21 April 2026
KEV Added
09 September 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.4
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.97 99.9th percentile
Risk Priority 88 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2016-3714 is a high-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux. Its CVSS base score is 8.4 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vulnerability tracked as CVE-2016-3714, also known as ImageTragick, is an input validation flaw (CWE-20) present in multiple coders within ImageMagick versions prior to 6.9.3-10 and 7.x prior to 7.0.1-1. Specifically, the EPHEMERAL, HTTPS, MVG, MSL, TEXT, SHOW, WIN, and PLT coders fail to sanitize shell metacharacters when processing image files, enabling arbitrary command execution.

Remote attackers can exploit the issue by supplying a specially crafted image that triggers one of the affected coders during processing. Successful exploitation grants the ability to execute arbitrary code on the target system with the privileges of the ImageMagick process, corresponding to a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.4.

Advisories and patches referenced in the ImageMagick ChangeLog and multiple OpenSUSE security announcements address the flaw through updated packages that restrict or sanitize the vulnerable coders.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The (1) EPHEMERAL, (2) HTTPS, (3) MVG, (4) MSL, (5) TEXT, (6) SHOW, (7) WIN, and (8) PLT coders in ImageMagick before 6.9.3-10 and 7.x before 7.0.1-1 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via shell metacharacters in a crafted…

more

image, aka "ImageTragick."

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
09 September 2024

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2010-4344Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2010-4345Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2018-7600Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2016-1646Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2025-32463Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2020-11651Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2019-9851Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linux
CVE-2016-0752Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2025-6558Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2020-11652Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linuxboth on KEV

Affected Assets

imagemagick
imagemagick
7.0.0-0, 7.0.1-0 · ≤ 6.9.3-9
canonical
ubuntu linux
12.04, 14.04, 15.10, 16.04
debian
debian linux
8.0, 9.0
opensuse
leap
42.1
opensuse
opensuse
13.2
suse
suse linux enterprise server
12

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-20

Security testing and developer training directly verify and enforce proper input validation, reducing exploitability of injection and malformed-data weaknesses.

addresses: CWE-20

Security testing and evaluation at multiple SDLC stages directly detects missing or flawed input validation, with the required remediation process ensuring fixes are applied.

addresses: CWE-20

Directly implements checks on information inputs to reject invalid data before processing.

addresses: CWE-20

Spam protection mechanisms perform filtering and detection on inbound/outbound messages, directly compensating for missing or weak input validation of unsolicited content.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

blocks

A.8.25 mandates security requirements, secure coding guidelines, checkpoints, testing (incl. code scans) and developer training in the SDLC, which reaches a slice of input validation defects but leaves the majority (incomplete enforcement, second-order inputs, parser differentials, post-validation canonicalization) unaddressed as in the SA-3 and A.8.28 anchors.

blocks

Mandating input controls that include integrity checks and input validation ensures that untrusted data is examined before use, blocking the root cause of many injection and malformed-data weaknesses.

blocks

Security-by-design principles explicitly call for data validation and sanitization at every layer, reducing the chance that malformed or malicious input will be processed without scrutiny.

prevents

Requiring language-specific secure coding standards, peer review, SAST and documented mitigation of common programming errors forces validation of all inputs before they are trusted.

finds

Testing against a defined set of requirements and using code review plus vulnerability scanning forces validation of inputs and handling of unanticipated conditions, reducing the chance that malformed data will be accepted.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-20, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.

References