CVE-2016-3715
Published: 05 May 2016
Summary
CVE-2016-3715 is a medium-severity Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties (CWE-552) vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux Eus. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked in the top 0.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 CM-7 (Least Functionality) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation).
Deeper analysis
The vulnerability CVE-2016-3715 resides in the EPHEMERAL coder component of ImageMagick versions before 6.9.3-10 and 7.x before 7.0.1-1. It is tracked under CWE-552 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 5.5, reflecting a local attack vector that requires low complexity and no privileges but does involve user interaction.
An attacker can supply a crafted image that triggers the coder to delete arbitrary files on the affected system when the image is processed. The impact is limited to integrity, with no direct effect on confidentiality or availability.
OpenSUSE security advisories and the ImageMagick ChangeLog reference the issue and corresponding updates for affected distributions.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2016-4736
Vulnerability details
The EPHEMERAL coder in ImageMagick before 6.9.3-10 and 7.x before 7.0.1-1 allows remote attackers to delete arbitrary files via a crafted image.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 03 November 2021
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly blocks the crafted image input that triggers the EPHEMERAL coder to perform unauthorized file deletions.
Ensures the ImageMagick process runs with only the minimal privileges needed, preventing deletion of arbitrary files even if the coder is exploited.
Allows disabling the vulnerable EPHEMERAL coder (or restricting ImageMagick functionality) so the attack vector cannot be reached.