CVE-2017-16611

Publication date 28 November 2017

Last updated 25 August 2025

Ubuntu priority

Cvss 3 Severity Score

Description

In libXfont before 1.5.4 and libXfont2 before 2.0.3, a local attacker can open (but not read) files on the system as root, triggering tape rewinds, watchdogs, or similar mechanisms that can be triggered by opening files.

Status

Show unmaintained releases

Package	Ubuntu Release	Status
libxfont	17.10 artful	Fixed 1:2.0.1-3ubuntu1.1
	17.04 zesty	Fixed 1:2.0.1-3ubuntu0.2
	16.04 LTS xenial	Fixed 1:1.5.1-1ubuntu0.16.04.4
	14.04 LTS trusty	Fixed 1:1.4.7-1ubuntu0.4
libxfont1	17.10 artful	Fixed 1:1.5.2-4ubuntu1.1
	17.04 zesty	Fixed 1:1.5.2-4ubuntu0.2
	16.04 LTS xenial	Not in release
	14.04 LTS trusty	Not in release
libxfont2	17.10 artful	Not in release
	17.04 zesty	Not in release
	16.04 LTS xenial	Fixed 1:2.0.1-3~ubuntu16.04.3
	14.04 LTS trusty	Not in release

Patch details

For informational purposes only. We recommend not to cherry-pick updates. How can I get the fixes?

Package	Patch details
libxfont	Upstream: ?id=7b3 Upstream: ?h=libX

Severity score breakdown

Parameter	Value
Base score	5.5 · Medium
Attack vector	Local
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges required	Low
User interaction	None
Scope	Unchanged
Confidentiality	None
Integrity impact	None
Availability impact	High
Vector	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References

Related Ubuntu Security Notices (USN)

USN-3500-1
libXfont vulnerability
29 November 2017