Description
The iowarrior_probe function in drivers/usb/misc/iowarrior.c in the Linux kernel before 4.5.1 allows physically proximate attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and system crash) via a crafted endpoints value in a USB device descriptor.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 4.9.16-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 4.9.16-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 4.9.16-1 | — |
| Debian 7 | linux | 3.2.88-1 | DLA-922-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +6 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +2 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +4 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux | 4.4.0-22.39 | USN-2965-1 |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-raspi2 | 4.4.0-1010.12 | USN-2965-3 |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-snapdragon | 4.4.0-1013.14 | USN-2965-4 |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | linux | 3.13.0-86.130 | USN-2968-1 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | linux-lts-utopic | 3.16.0-71.91~14.04.1 | USN-2969-1 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | linux-lts-vivid | 3.19.0-59.65~14.04.1 | USN-2970-1 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | linux-lts-wily | 4.2.0-36.41~14.04.1 | USN-2971-2 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | linux-lts-xenial | 4.4.0-22.39~14.04.1 | USN-2965-2 |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde-5.15 | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP1 | kernel-docs | 3.12.59-60.41.8 | SUSE-SU-2016:1696-1 |
| SLES 12 SP1 | kernel-syms | 3.12.59-60.41.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1696-1 |
| SLES 12 SP1 | kernel-xen +3 | 3.12.59-60.41.2 | SUSE-SU-2016:1696-1 |
| SLES 12 | kernel-docs | 3.12.60-52.49.3 | SUSE-SU-2016:1690-1 |
| SLES 12 | kernel-ec2 | 3.12.59-60.41.2 | SUSE-SU-2016:1696-1, SUSE-SU-2016:1690-1 |
| SLES 12 | kernel-xen +4 | 3.12.60-52.49.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1690-1 |
| SLES 11 SP4 | kernel-docs | 3.0.101-77.2 | SUSE-SU-2016:1672-1 |
| SLES 11 SP4 | kernel-ec2 +7 | 3.0.101-77.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1672-1 |
| SLES 11 SP3 | kernel-ec2 +7 | 3.0.101-0.47.79.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1203-1 |
| SLES 11 SP2 | kernel-ec2 +6 | 3.0.101-0.7.40.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:2074-1 |
Show 9 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | kernel-syms | 3.12.59-60.41.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1696-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | kernel-xen +2 | 3.12.59-60.41.2 | SUSE-SU-2016:1696-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 | kernel-xen +3 | 3.12.60-52.49.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1690-1 |
| SLES for SAP 11 SP4 | kernel-ec2 +7 | 3.0.101-77.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1672-1 |
| SLE Real Time 12 SP1 | kernel-rt +5 | 3.12.58-14.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1764-1 |
| SLE Real Time 11 SP4 | kernel-rt +3 | 3.0.101.rt130-54.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:2342-1, SUSE-SU-2016:1707-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 12 | kgraft-patch-SLE12_Update_14 +1 | 1-2.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1696-1, SUSE-SU-2016:1690-1 |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 5 | kernel-ec2 +6 | 3.0.101-0.47.79.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1203-1 |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 2.1 | kernel-ec2 +6 | 3.0.101-0.47.79.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1203-1 |
| SUSE Manager 2.1 | kernel-ec2 +6 | 3.0.101-0.47.79.1 | SUSE-SU-2016:1203-1 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Exploit-DB 1
- Linux Kernel 3.10.0-229.x (CentOS / RHEL 7.1) - 'iowarrior' Driver Crash (PoC) EDB-39556 · dos · Mar 14, 2016
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 17
- USN-2965-1 linux vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 22, 2026
- USN-2968-1 linux vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 22, 2026
- DLA-922-1 linux - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- USN-2970-1 linux-lts-vivid vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 10, 2026
- USN-2971-2 linux-lts-wily vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 10, 2026
- USN-2965-2 linux-lts-xenial vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 10, 2026
- USN-2965-3 linux-raspi2 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 10, 2026
- USN-2965-4 linux-snapdragon vulnerability Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 10, 2026
- USN-2969-1 linux-lts-utopic vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 10, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1672-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1764-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1696-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1707-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:2074-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:1203-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:2342-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
- SUSE-SU-2016:1690-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
References
- USN-2971-2 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SU-2016:1690 vendor-advisory
- 39556 exploit
- 20160310 oss-2016-15: Local RedHat Enterprise Linux DoS - RHEL 7.1 Kernel crashes on invalid USB device descriptors (iowarrior driver) mailing-list
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/4ec0ef3a82125efc36173062a50624550a900ae0
- SUSE-SU-2016:1696 vendor-advisory
- USN-2970-1 vendor-advisory
- USN-2969-1 vendor-advisory
- USN-2968-1 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1317018
- USN-2971-3 vendor-advisory
- USN-2997-1 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SU-2016:1764 vendor-advisory
- USN-2971-1 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SU-2016:1707 vendor-advisory
- USN-2996-1 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SU-2016:1672 vendor-advisory
- USN-2968-2 vendor-advisory
- openSUSE-SU-2016:1382 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SU-2016:2074 vendor-advisory
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.5.1
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=4ec0ef3a82125efc36173062a50624550a900ae0
- 20160315 Re: oss-2016-15: Local RedHat Enterprise Linux DoS - RHEL 7.1 Kernel crashes on invalid USB device descriptors (iowarrior driver) mailing-list