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CVE-2016-5102 Libtiff CVE debrief

CVE-2016-5102 affects LibTIFF 4.0.6's gif2tiff tool and is described as a buffer overflow in the readgifimage function in gif2tiff.c. The practical impact recorded in the advisory is denial of service through a segmentation fault when a crafted GIF file is processed. NVD classifies the issue as Medium severity with a CVSS 3.0 score of 5.5 and CWE-20 as the associated weakness.

Vendor
Libtiff
Product
Unknown
CVSS
MEDIUM 5.5
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-02-06
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-02-06
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Administrators and maintainers who ship or embed LibTIFF, especially environments that use gif2tiff or process untrusted GIF content. Package maintainers for Linux distributions and downstream products should also care because the source references multiple distro advisories and bug trackers.

Technical summary

The vulnerability is a memory-safety issue in gif2tiff's GIF parsing path, specifically the readgifimage function in gif2tiff.c. According to the source record, crafted input can trigger a buffer overflow and cause a crash. The NVD entry associates the issue with libtiff versions up to and including 4.0.6. The record also shows a CVSS 3.0 vector of AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, which suggests the impact is availability-focused and requires user interaction, even though the brief description mentions remote attackers.

Defensive priority

Medium. This is a crash-oriented parsing vulnerability rather than a confirmed code-execution issue in the supplied record, but it still matters for applications that automatically or routinely convert untrusted image files.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Upgrade LibTIFF to a version newer than 4.0.6 in affected environments.
  • Review whether gif2tiff is installed or exposed in your build, runtime, or image-processing workflows.
  • Treat untrusted GIF files as potentially dangerous until patched versions are deployed.
  • Monitor distro/vendor advisories referenced in the record for package-specific remediation guidance.
  • If immediate upgrading is not possible, remove or disable workflows that invoke gif2tiff on untrusted input.

Evidence notes

The CVE record and NVD detail page identify LibTIFF 4.0.6 as affected, cite a buffer overflow in readgifimage within gif2tiff.c, and describe denial of service via segmentation fault from a crafted GIF file. Supporting references in the source item include the Maptools bug tracker, Red Hat Bugzilla, Gentoo GLSA 201701-16, Ubuntu USN-3606-1, and SecurityFocus BID 96049. NVD also lists CWE-20 and CVSS 3.0 5.5.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-5102 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-5102

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2016-5102 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5102

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.