CVE-2016-1238: (1) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptar, (2) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptardiff, (3) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptargrep, (4) cpan/

Q: How do I fix CVE-2016-1238?

debian linux: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation; fedora: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation; perl: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Q: Is CVE-2016-1238 being exploited?

CVE-2016-1238 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

Q: What does CVE-2016-1238 affect?

CVE-2016-1238 affects debian linux, fedora, perl. Severity is high (CVSS 7.8). (1) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptar, (2) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptardiff, (3) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptargrep, (4) cpan/CPAN/scripts/cpan, (5) cpan/Digest-SHA/shasum, (6) cpan/Encode/bin/enc2xs, (7) cpan/Encode/bin/encguess, (8) cpan/Encode/bin/picon

Q: How urgent is CVE-2016-1238?

Priority 46/100. High severity; On your watchlist

This month

HIGH 7.8WATCHLISTMITIGATEMITIGATEDOWNGRADE

CVE-2016-1238 is a high-severity flaw (CVSS 7.8) affecting debian linux, fedora, perl. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

(1) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptar, (2) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptardiff, (3) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptargrep, (4) cpan/CPAN/scripts/cpan, (5) cpan/Digest-SHA/shasum, (6) cpan/Encode/bin/enc2xs, (7) cpan/Encode/bin/encguess, (8) cpan/Encode/bin/piconv, (9) cpan/Encode/bin/ucmlint, (10) cpan/Encode/bin/unidump, (11) cpan/ExtUtils-MakeMaker/bin/instmodsh, (12) cpan/IO-Compress/bin/zipdetails, (13) cpan/JSON-PP/bin/json_pp, (14) cpan/Test-Harness/bin/prove, (

Why this priority

High severity
On your watchlist

A fixed release or distro patch exists.

Risk facts

CVSS score	7.8 (High)
Attack vector	Local
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	Low
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	0.8% (top 44%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-264
Published	2016-08-02
Last modified	2026-06-17

Publisher (CNA): Debian GNU/Linux · Vendor: apache · debian · fedoraproject · opensuse · perl

Last updated 2026-06-17 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2016-08-02 14:59 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-17 00:41 UTCUpdated Record last modified

debian debian linux MITIGATE

Affected: 8.0

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 8.0

Check your OS release

cat /etc/os-release; uname -r

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Windows

Install the latest cumulative update from Windows Update

If no patch exists yet

OS downgrades are not safe. Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory and restrict exposure.

fedoraproject fedora MITIGATE

Affected: 23 · 24

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 23

Check your OS release

cat /etc/os-release; uname -r

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Windows

Install the latest cumulative update from Windows Update

If no patch exists yet

OS downgrades are not safe. Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory and restrict exposure.

perl perl DOWNGRADE

Affected: 1.0.15 · 1.0.16 · 5.000 · 5.000o · 5.001 · 5.001n · 5.002 · 5.002_01

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 1.0.15

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy perl || rpm -q perl || perl --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 1.0.15 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison perl sudo apt install perl=<VERSION_BEFORE_1.0.15> sudo apt-mark hold perl

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list perl sudo dnf downgrade perl-<VERSION_BEFORE_1.0.15> sudo dnf versionlock add perl

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

opensuse leap MITIGATE

Affected: 15.0

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 15.0

Check your OS release

cat /etc/os-release; uname -r

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade

RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Windows

Install the latest cumulative update from Windows Update

If no patch exists yet

OS downgrades are not safe. Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory and restrict exposure.

apache spamassassin UPGRADE

Affected: < 3.4.2

Fixed in: 3.4.2

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy spamassassin || rpm -q spamassassin || spamassassin --version

2. UPGRADE to 3.4.2 (Debian / Ubuntu)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade spamassassin

2. UPGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

sudo dnf upgrade spamassassin

Note

Distros often backport fixes without changing the version number. Confirm with the distro advisory or changelog.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2016-1238?

debian linux: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation; fedora: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation; perl: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2016-1238 being exploited?

CVE-2016-1238 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2016-1238 affect?

CVE-2016-1238 affects debian linux, fedora, perl. Severity is high (CVSS 7.8). (1) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptar, (2) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptardiff, (3) cpan/Archive-Tar/bin/ptargrep, (4) cpan/CPAN/scripts/cpan, (5) cpan/Digest-SHA/shasum, (6) cpan/Encode/bin/enc2xs, (7) cpan/Encode/bin/encguess, (8) cpan/Encode/bin/picon

How urgent is CVE-2016-1238?

Priority 46/100. High severity; On your watchlist

Software pages

Debian vulnerabilities · Perl vulnerabilities

Related CVEs

CVE-2023-4194 MEDIUM 5.5 UPGRADE MITIGATE A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's TUN/TAP functionality
CVE-2023-5197 HIGH 7.8 MITIGATE UPGRADE A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's netfilter: nf_tables component can be exploited to achiev
CVE-2023-1077 HIGH 7.0 UPGRADE MITIGATE In the Linux kernel, pick_next_rt_entity() may return a type confused entry, not detected by the BUG_ON condit
CVE-2022-48560 HIGH 7.5 UPGRADE MITIGATE A use-after-free exists in Python through 3.9 via heappushpop in heapq.
CVE-2022-36280 MEDIUM 6.3 UPGRADE MITIGATE An out-of-bounds(OOB) memory access vulnerability was found in vmwgfx driver in drivers/gpu/vmxgfx/vmxgfx_kms.

References

← Back to latest CVEs