CVE-2020-16166 json
The Linux kernel through 5.7.11 allows remote attackers to make observations that help to obtain sensitive information about the internal s…
published 2020-07-30 6 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2020-8132
- cvss
- 3.7
- version 3.1, NVD
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 5.2%
- EPSS 5.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 92%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
The Linux kernel through 5.7.11 allows remote attackers to make observations that help to obtain sensitive information about the internal state of the network RNG, aka CID-f227e3ec3b5c. This is related to drivers/char/random.c and kernel/time/timer.c.
Patch / fix
- linux Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 5.7.17-1
debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2020-16166
- linux Ubuntu 18.04 LTS 4.15.0-118.119
- linux Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-48.52
- linux-aws Ubuntu 18.04 LTS 4.15.0-1083.87
- linux-aws Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1025.25
- linux-gcp Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 4.15.0-1084.95~16.04.1
- linux-gcp Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1025.25
- linux-hwe Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 4.15.0-118.119~16.04.1
- linux-kvm Ubuntu 18.04 LTS 4.15.0-1075.76
ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2020-16166
Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0
- kernel-alt RHEL 7 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a
- perf RHEL 7 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a
- kernel RHEL 7 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a
- python-perf RHEL 7 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a
- kernel-tools RHEL 7 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a
- kernel-tools-libs RHEL 7 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a
- kernel-bootwrapper RHEL 7 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a
- kernel-abi-whitelists RHEL 7 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a
red hat advisories RHSA-2020:4279RHSA-2021:0184RHSA-2020:5418RHSA-2020:5473RHSA-2020:5428RHSA-2020:5506
- kernel-rt Real Time Module 15 SP1 4.12.14-14.31.1
- kernel-syms-rt Real Time Module 15 SP1 4.12.14-14.31.1
- kernel-rt_debug Real Time Module 15 SP1 4.12.14-14.31.1
- kernel-source-rt Real Time Module 15 SP1 4.12.14-14.31.1
- kernel-syms SLES for SAP 12 SP4, SLES 12 SP4-LTSS, OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 +1 more 4.12.14-95.60.1
- kernel-source SLES for SAP 12 SP4, SLES 12 SP4-LTSS, OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 +1 more 4.12.14-95.60.1
- kernel-default SLES for SAP 12 SP4, SLES 12 SP4-LTSS, SLE Live Patching 12 SP4 +3 more 4.12.14-95.60.1
- kernel-syms SLES for SAP 15, SLES 15-LTSS, SLE High Performance Computing 15-LTSS +1 more 4.12.14-150.58.1
suse advisories SUSE-SU-2020:2631-1SUSE-SU-2020:2623-1SUSE-SU-2020:2610-1SUSE-SU-2020:2605-1SUSE-SU-2020:2582-1SUSE-SU-2020:2576-1
- kernel-rt openSUSE Leap 15.2 5.3.18-lp152.3.5.1
- kernel-syms-rt openSUSE Leap 15.2 5.3.18-lp152.3.5.1
- kernel-rt_debug openSUSE Leap 15.2 5.3.18-lp152.3.5.1
- kernel-source-rt openSUSE Leap 15.2 5.3.18-lp152.3.5.1
- dpdk openSUSE Leap 15.2 19.11.1-lp152.2.5.1
- drbd openSUSE Leap 15.2 9.0.22~1+git.fe2b5983-lp152.2.2.1
- crash openSUSE Leap 15.2 7.2.8-lp152.3.2.1
- mhvtl openSUSE Leap 15.2 1.62-lp152.2.2.1
opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2021:0242-1openSUSE-SU-2020:1236-1openSUSE-SU-2020:1153-1
Vendor advisories
What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.
red hat product security vex CVE-2020-16166 updated cvss 3.7
kernel: information exposure in drivers/char/random.c and kernel/time/timer.c
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 moreaffected: workaround, no fix planned “Out of support scope”
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, +8 more Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2 kernelaffected: workaround, no fix planned “Will not fix”
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Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:5473
-
Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v. 8.1) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:0184
-
Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v. 8.2) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-193.37.1.el8_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 4.18.0-193.37.1.el8_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.18.0-193.37.1.el8_2fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:5418
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) perf 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3, kernel 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3, bpftool 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3, kernel-core 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3, kernel-tools 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3, python3-perf 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3, +15 morefixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:5473
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 8.1) kernel 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-core 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-modules 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-zfcpdump 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-debug-core 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-debug-modules 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, +9 morefixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:0184
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 8.2) perf 4.18.0-193.37.1.el8_2, kernel 4.18.0-193.37.1.el8_2, bpftool 4.18.0-193.37.1.el8_2, kernel-core 4.18.0-193.37.1.el8_2, kernel-tools 4.18.0-193.37.1.el8_2, python3-perf 4.18.0-193.37.1.el8_2, +15 morefixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:5418
show 6 moreshow fewer
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM and IBM Power LE (POWER9) Server (v. 7) perf 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a, kernel 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a, kernel-alt 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a, python-perf 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a, kernel-tools 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a, kernel-tools-libs 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7a, +3 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM and IBM Power LE (POWER9) Server Optional (v. 7) kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.14.0-115.32.1.el7afixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:4279
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 8) kernel-rt 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, kernel-rt-debug-modules 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, kernel-rt-modules-extra 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, +2 morefixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:5506
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v. 8.2) kernel-rt 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, kernel-rt-debug-modules 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, kernel-rt-modules-extra 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, +2 morefixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:5428
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 8) kernel-rt 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, kernel-rt-kvm 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-240.8.1.rt7.62.el8_3, +4 morefixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:5506
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v. 8.2) kernel-rt 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, kernel-rt-kvm 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-193.37.1.rt13.87.el8_2, +4 morefixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:5428
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Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v. 8.1) perf-debuginfo 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, bpftool-debuginfo 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-tools-debuginfo 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, python3-perf-debuginfo 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-tools-libs-devel 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1 Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) kernel-headers 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3, kernel-cross-headers 4.18.0-240.8.1.el8_3 Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 8.1) perf 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, bpftool 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-tools 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, python3-perf 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-tools-libs 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1, kernel-abi-whitelists 4.18.0-147.38.1.el8_1 Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 8.2) kernel-headers 4.18.0-193.37.1.el8_2not affected: vulnerable code not present
Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf
Exploit prediction
5.23% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 92% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVD | 3.1 | 3.7 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N |
| NVD | 2.0 | 4.3 | AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N |
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-330 Use of Insufficiently Random Values
- Technology feeds
References
-
github.com
/torvalds/linux/commit/f227e3ec3b5cad859ad15666874405e8c1bbc1d4
patch, third-party-advisory
-
git.kernel.org
/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=f227e3ec3b5cad859ad15666874405e8c1bbc1d4
patch, vendor-advisory
-
git.kernel.org
/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=c51f8f88d705e06bd696d7510aff22b33eb8e638
patch, vendor-advisory
-
oracle.com
/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
patch, third-party-advisory
-
lists.opensuse.org
/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00009.html
vendor-advisory, mailing-list, third-party-advisory
-
lists.fedoraproject.org
/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MFBCLQWJI5I4G25TVJNLXLAXJ4MERQNW/
vendor-advisory
-
lists.fedoraproject.org
/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/AAPTLPAEKVAJYJ4LHN7VH4CN2W75R2YW/
vendor-advisory
-
lists.opensuse.org
/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00047.html
vendor-advisory, mailing-list, third-party-advisory
-
usn.ubuntu.com
/4526-1/
vendor-advisory, third-party-advisory
-
usn.ubuntu.com
/4525-1/
vendor-advisory, third-party-advisory
-
lists.debian.org
/debian-lts-announce/2020/09/msg00025.html
mailing-list, third-party-advisory
-
lists.debian.org
/debian-lts-announce/2020/10/msg00032.html
mailing-list, third-party-advisory
-
lists.debian.org
/debian-lts-announce/2020/10/msg00034.html
mailing-list, third-party-advisory
-
security.netapp.com
/advisory/ntap-20200814-0004/
third-party-advisory
-
arxiv.org
/pdf/2012.07432.pdf
technical-description, third-party-advisory
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2020-16166
- NVD CVE-2020-16166
Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.