What is CVE-2017-16525?

CVE-2017-16525 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 6.6/10. Published 2017-11-04.

How severe is CVE-2017-16525?

Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.6 out of 10.

Is CVE-2017-16525 known to be exploited?

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

Use After Free in Linux Kernel

CVE-2017-16525

The usb_serial_console_disconnect function in drivers/usb/serial/console.c in the Linux kernel before 4.13.8 allows local users to cause a denial of service (use-after-free and system crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted USB device, related to disconnection and failed setup.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

Published 2017-11-04 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.6 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (31.3th percentile), scored 2026-10-07.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 31st percentile — 31.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Linux Kernel
Canonical Ubuntu Linux — versions 12.04, 14.04
Debian Linux — versions 7.0

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-416 — Use After Free

Public proof-of-concept exploits

ARPSyndicate/cvemon

References

lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2017/12/msg00004.html (mailing-list, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/102028 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
usn.ubuntu.com/3583-2/ (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/299d7572e46f98534033a9e65973f13ad1ce9047 (Patch, Third Party Advisory)
usn.ubuntu.com/3583-1/ (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
groups.google.com/d/msg/syzkaller/cMACrmo1x0k/4KhRoUgABAAJ (Third Party Advisory)
github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/bd998c2e0df0469707503023d50d46cf0b10c787 (Patch, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-16525?: CVE-2017-16525 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 6.6/10. Published 2017-11-04.
How severe is CVE-2017-16525?: Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.6 out of 10.
Is CVE-2017-16525 known to be exploited?: 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.