CVE-2016-4538
9.8 · CRITICALOverview
CVE-2016-4538 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting php php. It was published on May 22, 2016 and has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
The bcpowmod function in ext/bcmath/bcmath.c in PHP before 5.5.35, 5.6.x before 5.6.21, and 7.x before 7.0.6 modifies certain data structures without considering whether they are copies of the _zero_, _one_, or _two_ global variable, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted call.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from php. Update php to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| php | php | 0 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2016-4538?
CVE-2016-4538 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting php php. It was published on May 22, 2016 and has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).
How severe is CVE-2016-4538?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2016-4538?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from php. Update php to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2016-4538?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2016-4538 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
Automated penetration testing that runs continuously, not just quarterly.
AI-driven PR review catches vulnerable dependencies before they ship.
Browser-based exploitation validates findings with real proof-of-concept.
Related CRITICAL CVEs from 2016
View all →The Data Protection extension in the VMware GUI in IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environmen
The initialize method in the Histogram class in lib/colorscore/histogram.rb in the colorscore gem be
The idle stream handling in nghttp2 before 1.6.0 allows attackers to have unspecified impact via unk
Integer overflow in the ImageRegionReader::ReadIntoBuffer function in MediaStorageAndFileFormat/gdcm
HPE Operations Manager 8.x and 9.0 on Windows allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands
Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in the browser engine in Mozilla Firefox before 44.0 allow remo
The multifilesystem storage backend in Radicale before 1.1 allows remote attackers to read or write
The filesystem storage backend in Radicale before 1.1 on Windows allows remote attackers to read or
The Data Protection component in the VMware vSphere GUI in IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual En
The XML parser in Cisco Information Server (CIS) 6.2 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files
Adobe Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.16, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30172,
Adobe Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.16, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30172,