CVE-2016-9915
Memory leak in hw/9pfs/9p-handle.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local privileged guest OS...
Memory leak in hw/9pfs/9p-handle.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local privileged guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host memory consumption and possibly QEMU process crash) by leveraging a missing cleanup operation in the handle backend.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
6.5
Memory leak in hw/9pfs/9p-handle.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local privileged guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host memory consumption and possibly QEMU process crash) by leveraging a missing cleanup operation in the handle backend.
- Record
CVE-2016-9915- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 4.9 Medium
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-401
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Memory leak in hw/9pfs/9p-handle.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local privileged guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host memory consumption and possibly QEMU process crash) by leveraging a missing cleanup operation in the handle backend.
- Record
CVE-2016-9915- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2016-10702 No score
Memory leak in hw/9pfs/9p-handle.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local privileged guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host memory consumption and possibly QEMU process crash) by leveraging a missing cleanup operation in the handle backend.
- Record
EUVD-2016-10702- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-qmgf-9w4w-q3mj
6.5
Memory leak in hw/9pfs/9p-handle.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local privileged guest OS...
Memory leak in hw/9pfs/9p-handle.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local privileged guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host memory consumption and possibly QEMU process crash) by leveraging a missing cleanup operation in the handle backend.
- Record
GHSA-qmgf-9w4w-q3mj- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-401
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
6.5
Memory leak in hw/9pfs/9p-handle.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local privileged guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host memory consumption and possibly QEMU process crash) by leveraging a missing cleanup operation in the handle backend.
- Record
CVE-2016-9915- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2016-9915
6.5
Memory leak in hw/9pfs/9p-handle.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local privileged guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host memory consumption and possibly QEMU process crash) by leveraging a missing cleanup operation in the handle backend.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2016-9915- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2016-9915
6.5
Memory leak in hw/9pfs/9p-handle.c in QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) allows local privileged guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host memory consumption and possibly QEMU process crash) by leveraging a missing cleanup operation in the handle backend.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2016-9915- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 3.0
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUSN-3261-1 No score
qemu vulnerabilities
Zhenhao Hong discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the Virtio GPU device. An attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 16.10. (CVE-2016-10028, CVE-2016-10029)
Li Qiang discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the 6300esb watchdog. A privileged attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2016-10155)
Li Qiang discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the i.MX Fast Ethernet Controller. A privileged attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 16.10. (CVE-2016-7907)
It was discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the JAZZ RC4030 device. A privileged attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2016-8667)
It was discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the 16550A UART device. A privileged attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2016-8669)
It was discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the shared rings when used with Xen. A privileged attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service, or possibly execute arbitrary code on the host. (CVE-2016-9381)
Jann Horn discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled VirtFS directory sharing. A privileged attacker inside the guest could use this issue to access files on the host file system outside of the shared directory and possibly escalate their privileges. In the default installation, when QEMU is used with libvirt, attackers would be isolated by the libvirt AppArmor profile. (CVE-2016-9602)
Gerd Hoffmann discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the Cirrus VGA device when being used with a VNC connection. A privileged attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service, or possibly execute arbitrary code on the host. In the default installation, when QEMU is used with libvirt, attackers would be isolated by the libvirt AppArmor profile. (CVE-2016-9603)
It was discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the ColdFire Fast Ethernet Controller. A privileged attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2016-9776)
Li Qiang discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the Virtio GPU device. An attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to leak contents of host memory. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 16.10. (CVE-2016-9845, CVE-2016-9908)
Li Qiang discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the Virtio GPU device. An attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 16.10. (CVE-2016-9846, CVE-2016-9912, CVE-2017-5552, CVE-2017-5578, CVE-2017-5857)
Li Qiang discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the USB redirector. An attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service. This issue only affected Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Ubuntu 16.10. (CVE-2016-9907)
Li Qiang discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled USB EHCI emulation. An attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2016-9911)
Li Qiang discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled VirtFS directory sharing. A privileged attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2016-9913, CVE-2016-9914, CVE-2016-9915, CVE-2016-9916)
Qinghao Tang, Li Qiang, and Jiangxin discovered that QEMU incorrectly handled the Cirrus VGA device. A privileged attacker inside the guest could use this issue to cause QEMU to crash, resulting in a denial of service.…
- Record
USN-3261-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
qemuDebian:12 |
before 1:2.8+dfsg-1 | 1:2.8+dfsg-1 |
qemuDebian:13 |
before 1:2.8+dfsg-1 | 1:2.8+dfsg-1 |
qemuDebian:14 |
before 1:2.8+dfsg-1 | 1:2.8+dfsg-1 |
qemuDebian:8 From an advisory covering 52 CVEs |
before 1:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u7, plus listed versions 1:2.1+dfsg-111:2.1+dfsg-121:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u11:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u21:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u3 Show 7 moreShow less1:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u41:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u4~bpo70+11:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u51:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u5a1:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u5a~bpo70+11:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u61:2.1+dfsg-12~bpo70+1 |
1:2.1+dfsg-12+deb8u7 |
qemuUbuntu:14.04:LTS |
before 2.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.33, plus listed versions 1.5.0+dfsg-3ubuntu51.5.0+dfsg-3ubuntu61.6.0+dfsg-2ubuntu11.6.0+dfsg-2ubuntu21.6.0+dfsg-2ubuntu3 Show 45 moreShow less1.6.0+dfsg-2ubuntu41.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu11.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu21.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu31.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu41.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu51.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu71.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu81.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu91.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu1~ppa11.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu11.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu21.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu31.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu41.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu51.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu61.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu72.0.0~rc1+dfsg-0ubuntu12.0.0~rc1+dfsg-0ubuntu22.0.0~rc1+dfsg-0ubuntu32.0.0~rc1+dfsg-0ubuntu3.12.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu12.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.12.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.22.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.32.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.52.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.62.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.72.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.82.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.92.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.102.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.112.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.132.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.142.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.152.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.162.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.172.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.182.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.192.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.202.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.212.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.222.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.242.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.252.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.26 |
2.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.33 |
qemuUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
before 1:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.11, plus listed versions 1:2.3+dfsg-5ubuntu91:2.3+dfsg-5ubuntu101:2.4+dfsg-4ubuntu11:2.4+dfsg-4ubuntu21:2.4+dfsg-4ubuntu3 Show 21 moreShow less1:2.4+dfsg-5ubuntu31:2.5+dfsg-1ubuntu21:2.5+dfsg-1ubuntu31:2.5+dfsg-1ubuntu41:2.5+dfsg-1ubuntu51:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu11:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu21:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu41:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu61:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu71:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu101:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.11:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.21:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.31:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.41:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.51:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.61:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.71:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.81:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.91:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.10 |
1:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.11 |
qemuUbuntu:14.04:LTS From an advisory covering 37 CVEs |
before 2.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.33, plus listed versions 1.5.0+dfsg-3ubuntu51.5.0+dfsg-3ubuntu61.6.0+dfsg-2ubuntu11.6.0+dfsg-2ubuntu21.6.0+dfsg-2ubuntu3 Show 45 moreShow less1.6.0+dfsg-2ubuntu41.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu11.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu21.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu31.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu41.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu51.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu71.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu81.7.0+dfsg-2ubuntu91.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu1~ppa11.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu11.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu21.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu31.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu41.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu51.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu61.7.0+dfsg-3ubuntu72.0.0~rc1+dfsg-0ubuntu12.0.0~rc1+dfsg-0ubuntu22.0.0~rc1+dfsg-0ubuntu32.0.0~rc1+dfsg-0ubuntu3.12.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu12.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.12.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.22.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.32.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.52.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.62.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.72.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.82.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.92.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.102.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.112.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.132.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.142.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.152.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.162.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.172.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.182.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.192.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.202.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.212.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.222.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.242.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.252.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.26 |
2.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.33 |
qemuUbuntu:16.04:LTS From an advisory covering 37 CVEs |
before 1:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.11, plus listed versions 1:2.3+dfsg-5ubuntu91:2.3+dfsg-5ubuntu101:2.4+dfsg-4ubuntu11:2.4+dfsg-4ubuntu21:2.4+dfsg-4ubuntu3 Show 21 moreShow less1:2.4+dfsg-5ubuntu31:2.5+dfsg-1ubuntu21:2.5+dfsg-1ubuntu31:2.5+dfsg-1ubuntu41:2.5+dfsg-1ubuntu51:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu11:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu21:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu41:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu61:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu71:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu101:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.11:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.21:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.31:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.41:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.51:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.61:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.71:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.81:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.91:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.10 |
1:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.11 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| 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-2016-9915 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.5) in Qemu, published December 29, 2016. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.44%, the 38th percentile. Fixed in qemu 1:2.8+dfsg-1.
References
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/09/msg00007.html
securityfocus.com/bid/94729
lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2016-11/msg03278.html
security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-49
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/12/06/11
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/12/08/7
Show 44 moreShow less
git.qemu.org?p=qemu.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=971f406b77a6eb84e0ad27dcc416b663765aee30
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9915
git.qemu.org?p=qemu.git;a=commit;h=971f406b77a6eb84e0ad27dcc416b663765aee30
github.com/advisories/GHSA-qmgf-9w4w-q3mj
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-9915
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9915
ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-3261-1
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9915
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-7907
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-8667
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-8669
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9381
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9602
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9603
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9776
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9845
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9846
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9907
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9908
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9911
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9912
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9913
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9914
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9916
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9921
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-9922
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-10028
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-10029
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-10155
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-2615
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-2620
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-2633
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5525
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5526
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5552
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5578
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5579
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5667
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5856
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5857
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5898
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5973
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-5987
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-6505
Left out here: 12 versions and the rest of 1 source description. The JSON record has them.