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CVE-2016-5319 Libtiff CVE debrief

CVE-2016-5319 is a publicly disclosed libtiff vulnerability first published on 2017-01-20. According to NVD, libtiff 4.0.6 and earlier are affected by a heap-based buffer overflow in tif_packbits.c. The issue is reachable through a crafted BMP file and is rated medium severity with a CVSS 3.0 vector of AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, indicating remote reachability but user interaction is required and the primary impact is availability.

Vendor
Libtiff
Product
Unknown
CVSS
MEDIUM 6.5
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-01-20
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-01-20
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Organizations that process untrusted image files with libtiff, especially software handling BMP inputs, should care. This includes application teams, desktop environment maintainers, image-processing pipelines, and security teams responsible for endpoint and server software that links against libtiff.

Technical summary

NVD maps CVE-2016-5319 to CWE-119 and describes a heap-based buffer overflow in tif_packbits.c affecting libtiff through version 4.0.6. The vulnerable path is associated with crafted BMP input, and the CVSS vector indicates network access, no privileges, and required user interaction. The documented impact in the supplied corpus is denial of service via application crash rather than confidentiality or integrity compromise.

Defensive priority

Medium. The vulnerability is publicly known, affects a widely used image library, and can cause crashes when processing attacker-controlled files. Priority should be elevated for systems that routinely ingest untrusted images or expose file conversion and preview workflows to users.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Confirm whether libtiff 4.0.6 or earlier is present in your software bill of materials or embedded dependencies.
  • Upgrade or replace affected libtiff versions using a vendor-maintained release that addresses the issue.
  • Restrict or sandbox image parsing components that accept untrusted BMP files.
  • Reduce exposure by validating file sources and limiting automatic preview or conversion of untrusted images.
  • Monitor crash reports and application logs for failures in tif_packbits.c or image-decoding paths involving libtiff.

Evidence notes

The CVE record and NVD entry identify the issue as a heap-based buffer overflow in tif_packbits.c affecting libtiff 4.0.6 and earlier. NVD assigns CVSS 3.0 vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H and CWE-119. Supplied references include oss-security mailing list posts, a SecurityFocus entry, and Gentoo GLSA 201701-16, which corroborate public disclosure and downstream awareness. No exploit code or patch details were provided in the supplied corpus.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-5319 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-5319

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

  • CVE-2016-5319 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5319

    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.