CVE-2016-8860
Tor before 0.2.8.9 and 0.2.9.x before 0.2.9.4-alpha had internal functions that were entitled to...
Tor before 0.2.8.9 and 0.2.9.x before 0.2.9.4-alpha had internal functions that were entitled to expect that buf_t data had NUL termination, but the implementation of or/buffers.c did not ensure that NUL termination was present, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (client, hidden service, relay, or authority crash) via crafted data.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
7.5
Tor before 0.2.8.9 and 0.2.9.x before 0.2.9.4-alpha had internal functions that were entitled to expect that buf_t data had NUL termination, but the implementation of or/buffers.c did not ensure that NUL termination was present, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (client, hidden service, relay, or authority crash) via crafted data.
- Record
CVE-2016-8860- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-119
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Tor before 0.2.8.9 and 0.2.9.x before 0.2.9.4-alpha had internal functions that were entitled to expect that buf_t data had NUL termination, but the implementation of or/buffers.c did not ensure that NUL termination was present, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (client, hidden service, relay, or authority crash) via crafted data.
- Record
CVE-2016-8860- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2016-9685 No score
Tor before 0.2.8.9 and 0.2.9.x before 0.2.9.4-alpha had internal functions that were entitled to expect that buf_t data had NUL termination, but the implementation of or/buffers.c did not ensure that NUL termination was present, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (client, hidden service, relay, or authority crash) via crafted data.
- Record
EUVD-2016-9685- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-r9f4-f6pw-gqm4
7.5
Tor before 0.2.8.9 and 0.2.9.x before 0.2.9.4-alpha had internal functions that were entitled to...
Tor before 0.2.8.9 and 0.2.9.x before 0.2.9.4-alpha had internal functions that were entitled to expect that buf_t data had NUL termination, but the implementation of or/buffers.c did not ensure that NUL termination was present, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (client, hidden service, relay, or authority crash) via crafted data.
- Record
GHSA-r9f4-f6pw-gqm4- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-119
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.5
Tor before 0.2.8.9 and 0.2.9.x before 0.2.9.4-alpha had internal functions that were entitled to expect that buf_t data had NUL termination, but the implementation of or/buffers.c did not ensure that NUL termination was present, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (client, hidden service, relay, or authority crash) via crafted data.
- Record
CVE-2016-8860- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2016-8860
7.5
Tor before 0.2.8.9 and 0.2.9.x before 0.2.9.4-alpha had internal functions that were entitled to expect that buf_t data had NUL termination, but the implementation of or/buffers.c did not ensure that NUL termination was present, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (client, hidden service, relay, or authority crash) via crafted data.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2016-8860- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2016-8860
7.5
Tor before 0.2.8.9 and 0.2.9.x before 0.2.9.4-alpha had internal functions that were entitled to expect that buf_t data had NUL termination, but the implementation of or/buffers.c did not ensure that NUL termination was present, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (client, hidden service, relay, or authority crash) via crafted data.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2016-8860- CVSS 3.0
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2016-0356 No score
Updated tor packages fix security vulnerability
It has been discovered that Tor treats the contents of some buffer chunks as if they were a NUL-terminated string. This issue could enable a remote attacker to crash a Tor client, hidden service, relay, or authority (CVE-2016-8860).
The tor package has been updated to version 0.2.8.9, which fixes this issue and several other bugs, including other security issues fixed in 0.2.8.6. See the release announcements for details.
- Record
MGASA-2016-0356- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
torDebian:12 |
before 0.2.8.9-1 | 0.2.8.9-1 |
torDebian:13 |
before 0.2.8.9-1 | 0.2.8.9-1 |
torDebian:14 |
before 0.2.8.9-1 | 0.2.8.9-1 |
torDebian:7 |
before 0.2.4.27-2, plus listed versions 0.2.3.25-10.2.4.1-alpha-10.2.4.10-alpha-10.2.4.11-alpha-10.2.4.12-alpha-1 Show 28 moreShow less0.2.4.12-alpha-20.2.4.13-alpha-10.2.4.14-alpha-10.2.4.15-rc-10.2.4.16-rc-10.2.4.17-rc-10.2.4.18-rc-10.2.4.19-10.2.4.2-alpha-10.2.4.20-10.2.4.21-10.2.4.22-10.2.4.22-1~bpo70+10.2.4.22-1~deb7u10.2.4.23-10.2.4.23-1~deb6u10.2.4.23-1~deb7u10.2.4.24-10.2.4.26-10.2.4.26-1~deb6u10.2.4.27-10.2.4.27-1~deb6u10.2.4.3-alpha-10.2.4.4-alpha-10.2.4.5-alpha-10.2.4.6-alpha-10.2.4.7-alpha-10.2.4.9-alpha-1 |
0.2.4.27-2 |
torDebian:8 |
before 0.2.5.12-3, plus listed versions 0.2.5.12-10.2.5.12-2 |
0.2.5.12-3 |
torMageia:5 |
before 0.2.8.9-1.mga5 | 0.2.8.9-1.mga5 |
torUbuntu:14.04:LTS |
before 0.2.4.27-1ubuntu0.1, plus listed versions 0.2.3.25-10.2.4.19-10.2.4.20-10.2.4.27-1build0.14.04.1 |
0.2.4.27-1ubuntu0.1 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2016-8860 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Torproject Tor, published October 18, 2016. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.93%, the 80th percentile. Fixed in tor 0.2.8.9-1.
References
blog.torproject.org/blog/tor-0289-released-important-fixes
github.com/torproject/tor/commit/3cea86eb2fbb65949673eb4ba8ebb695c87a57ce
security.gentoo.org/glsa/201612-45
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/19/11
trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/20384
securityfocus.com/bid/95116
Show 12 moreShow less
debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3694
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-8860
github.com/advisories/GHSA-r9f4-f6pw-gqm4
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-8860
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2016-0356.html
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=19145
blog.torproject.org/blog/tor-0286-released
blog.torproject.org/blog/tor-0287-released-important-fixes
blog.torproject.org/blog/tor-0288-released-important-fixes
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-8860
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/18/11
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-8860