What is CVE-2016-8658?

CVE-2016-8658 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. CVSS score: 6.1/10. Published 2016-10-16.

How severe is CVE-2016-8658?

Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.1 out of 10.

Is CVE-2016-8658 known to be exploited?

1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Buffer overflow in Linux Kernel

CVE-2016-8658

Stack-based buffer overflow in the brcmf_cfg80211_start_ap function in drivers/net/wireless/broadcom/brcm80211/brcmfmac/cfg80211.c in the Linux kernel before 4.7.5 allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a long SSID Information Element in a command to a Netlink socket.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published 2016-10-16 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.1 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.007 (50.3th percentile), scored 2026-10-02.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 50th percentile — 50.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.006 · newest: 0.007 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Linux Kernel

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-119 — Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer

Public proof-of-concept exploits

freener/pocs

References

www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3146-2 (vendor-advisory)
github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/ded89912156b1a47d940a0c954c43afbabd0c42c (Patch, Issue Tracking)
www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3146-1 (vendor-advisory)
www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3145-1 (vendor-advisory)
git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/ (Patch, Issue Tracking)
www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/13/1 (mailing-list, Mailing List)
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi (Issue Tracking)
www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3145-2 (vendor-advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/93541 (vdb-entry)
www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.7.5 (Release Notes)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-8658?: CVE-2016-8658 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. CVSS score: 6.1/10. Published 2016-10-16.
How severe is CVE-2016-8658?: Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.1 out of 10.
Is CVE-2016-8658 known to be exploited?: 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.