Double free vulnerability in drivers/net/usb/cdc_ncm.c in the Linux kernel before 4.5 allows physically proximate attackers to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact by inserting a USB device with an invalid USB descriptor.
CVE-2016-3951
MEDIUMNVD 4.64.6—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence
Score 4.6 from GitHub Security Advisory published 2022-05-17. NVD baseline CVSS 4.6; sources differ by 0.0.
Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
4.6EG
EchelonGraph verdictMonitorLow exploitation likelihood right now — keep watching.
- Lower severity and no public exploit yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0.6%CVSS: 4.6Exploit: None knownExposed services: —
A fix is available — apply it.
Internet exposure
The internet-exposure footprint is temporarily unavailable — the KEV-Exposure radar's record for this CVE could not be loaded just now. That is not a finding of zero exposed services; please retry shortly.
- CVSS v3
- 4.6
- EG Score
- 4.6MEDIUMmedium confidence
- EG Risk
- 25EG Risk 25/100CISA SSVC
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity46% × 45%Exploitation1% × 40%Automatability30% × 15%CISA SSVC: Track at low or medium mission impact; Track or Attend at high (mission-essential systems).Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high. - EPSS PROB
- 0.6%
- EPSS %ILE
- 46th
- KEV
- Not listed
CISA SSVCTrack at low or medium mission impact; Track or Attend at high (mission-essential systems).
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.
Exploitation none (no KEV listing, exploit record or EPSS ≥ 50%) · Automatable unknown (not published for this CVE) · Technical impact partial (CVSS below 9.0). Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it: high means the affected system is essential to your organisation's mission, or its compromise could cause irreversible harm to people. CISA's decision table
Published
May 2, 2016
Last Modified
June 17, 2026
References (46)
- cve@mitrehttp://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=1666984c8625b3db19a9abc298931d35ab7bc64b
- cve@mitrehttp://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=4d06dd537f95683aba3651098ae288b7cbff8274
- cve@mitrehttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-05/msg00060.html
- cve@mitrehttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-06/msg00054.html
- cve@mitrehttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-06/msg00056.html
- cve@mitrehttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-07/msg00005.html
- cve@mitrehttp://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3607
- cve@mitrehttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/04/06/4
- cve@mitrehttp://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91028
- cve@mitrehttp://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036763
- cve@mitrehttp://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2989-1
- cve@mitrehttp://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-2998-1
- cve@mitrehttp://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3000-1
- cve@mitrehttp://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3001-1
- cve@mitrehttp://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3002-1
Vendor Advisories for CVE-2016-3951
Vendor advisories for this CVE are temporarily unavailable — the list could not be loaded just now. That is not a sign that none exist; please retry shortly.
Patch Availability(13)
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
All Vendor Advisories
(13)
Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.
- UbuntuUSN-2965-1LOW
Linux kernel vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-2965-2LOW
Linux kernel (Xenial HWE) vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-2965-3LOW
Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi 2) vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-2965-4LOW
Linux kernel (Qualcomm Snapdragon) vulnerability
- UbuntuUSN-2989-1LOW
Linux kernel vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-2998-1LOW
Linux kernel (Trusty HWE) vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-3000-1LOW
Linux kernel (Utopic HWE) vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-3001-1LOW
Linux kernel (Vivid HWE) vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-3002-1LOW
Linux kernel (Wily HWE) vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-3003-1LOW
Linux kernel vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-3004-1LOW
Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi 2) vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-3021-1LOW
Linux kernel vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-3021-2LOW
Linux kernel (OMAP4) vulnerabilities
Related CVEs(same product + same vendor)· as of October 4, 2026
Same product
10 shownDebian:7:linux
- CVE-2015-8104EG 10.0CRITICAL
- CVE-2017-18017EG 9.8EPSS p99CRITICAL
- CVE-2017-7895EG 9.8EPSS p96CRITICAL
- CVE-2016-3955EG 9.8EPSS p98CRITICAL
- CVE-2015-8812EG 9.8EPSS p97CRITICAL
- CVE-2015-3331EG 9.3EPSS p96HIGH
- CVE-2016-5195NVD 7.0EG 9.0 KEVEPSS p100CRITICAL
- CVE-2017-5754NVD 5.6EG 8.9EPSS p100HIGH
- CVE-2017-12134EG 8.8HIGH
- CVE-2016-3134EG 8.4HIGH
Same vendor
10 shownubuntu:USN-2965-1 · ubuntu:USN-2989-1 · ubuntu:USN-2998-1
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2016-3951?
CVE-2016-3951 is a medium vulnerability published on May 2, 2016. Double free vulnerability in drivers/net/usb/cdc_ncm.c in the Linux kernel before 4.5 allows physically proximate attackers to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact by inserting a USB device with an invalid USB descriptor.
When was CVE-2016-3951 disclosed?
CVE-2016-3951 was first published on May 2, 2016, with the most recent update on June 17, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2016-3951 actively exploited?
CVE-2016-3951 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 0.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (46th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-3951?
CVE-2016-3951 has a CVSS v3 base score of 4.6 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2016-3951?
A fix for CVE-2016-3951 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory.
Dependency Blast Radius
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