Security Resilience

CVE-2016-9079

Memory Safety in Redhat Enterprise Linux 5.0 … 7.0

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCMemory Safety
Published
11 June 2018
Modified
04 November 2025
KEV Added
22 June 2023
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.88 99.8th percentile
Risk Priority 84 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-2016-9079 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique OS Credential Dumping (T1003); ranked in the top 0.2% 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.

A use-after-free vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2016-9079 and assigned CWE-416, exists in the SVG Animation component of Mozilla products. It affects Firefox versions prior to 50.0.2, Firefox ESR versions prior to 45.5.1, and Thunderbird versions prior to 45.5.1. The flaw received a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and no required privileges or user interaction for a confidentiality impact.

An attacker can exploit the issue remotely by serving malicious web content containing crafted SVG animations. Public reporting indicates that working exploits were found in the wild, specifically targeting Firefox and Tor Browser users on Windows, enabling unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information from the affected process.

Red Hat Security Advisories RHSA-2016-2843 and RHSA-2016-2850, along with the referenced Mozilla bug 1321066, address the issue through updated packages that correct the use-after-free condition in SVG handling. Applying these updates to reach the fixed versions eliminates the vulnerability for supported deployments.

The vulnerability is notable for confirmed real-world exploitation prior to widespread patching, underscoring the need for rapid update deployment on Windows endpoints running the affected Mozilla software.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A use-after-free vulnerability in SVG Animation has been discovered. An exploit built on this vulnerability has been discovered in the wild targeting Firefox and Tor Browser users on Windows. This vulnerability affects Firefox < 50.0.2, Firefox ESR < 45.5.1, and…

more

Thunderbird < 45.5.1.

CWE(s)
CWE-416
KEV Date Added
22 June 2023

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1008 Fallback Channels Command And Control
Adversaries may use fallback or alternate communication channels if the primary channel is compromised or inaccessible in order to maintain reliable command and control and to avoid data transfer thresholds.
attack.mitre.org →
T1011 Exfiltration Over Other Network Medium Exfiltration
Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over a different network medium than the command and control channel.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-9680Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2015-5123Same product: Microsoft Windowsboth on KEV
CVE-2018-4878Same product: Microsoft Windowsboth on KEV
CVE-2015-5119Same product: Microsoft Windowsboth on KEV
CVE-2015-5122Same product: Microsoft Windowsboth on KEV
CVE-2018-15982Same product: Microsoft Windowsboth on KEV
CVE-2016-7855Same product: Microsoft Windowsboth on KEV
CVE-2024-1086Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2022-26486Same product: Mozilla Firefoxboth on KEV
CVE-2022-26485Same product: Mozilla Firefoxboth on KEV

Affected Assets

debian
debian linux
9.0
redhat
enterprise linux
5.0, 6.0, 7.0
redhat
enterprise linux desktop
5.0, 6.0, 7.0
redhat
enterprise linux server
5.0, 6.0, 7.0
redhat
enterprise linux server aus
7.3, 7.4
redhat
enterprise linux server eus
7.3, 7.4, 7.5
redhat
enterprise linux workstation
5.0, 6.0, 7.0
mozilla
thunderbird
≤ 45.5.1
mozilla
firefox
≤ 50.0.2 · ≤ 45.5.1
torproject
tor
all versions

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

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.

SI-16 Memory Protection
addresses: CWE-416

Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

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

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

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.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.5.30 ICT readiness for business continuity partial match
removes

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. blocks CWE-416

References