CVE-2016-6662

What it is

Oracle MySQL through 5.5.52, 5.6.x through 5.6.33, and 5.7.x through 5.7.15; MariaDB before 5.5.51, 10.0.x before 10.0.27, and 10.1.x before 10.1.17; and Percona Server before 5.5.51-38.1, 5.6.x before 5.6.32-78.0, and 5.7.x before 5.7.14-7 allow local users to create arbitrary configurations and bypass certain protection mechanisms by setting general_log_file to a my.cnf configuration. NOTE: this can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code with root privileges by setting malloc_lib. NOTE: the affected MySQL version information is from Oracle's October 2016 CPU. Oracle has not commented on third-party claims that the issue was silently patched in MySQL 5.5.52, 5.6.33, and 5.7.15.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.

Exploit odds

67.7% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS). Higher than most.

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2016-08-10 00:00 UTC ReservedThe CVE id was reserved by its CNA
2. 2016-09-20 18:59 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
3. 2026-06-17 00:51 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 67.7% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 9.8 CRITICAL (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.
• It meets the bar for Drop everything: critical, and exploited or very likely to be.

Details

Published

2016-09-20 18:59 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 00:51 UTC

Exploit probability

67.7% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-264

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Oracle MySQL ≤ 5.5.52
• Oracle MySQL ≤ 5.6.33
• Oracle MySQL ≤ 5.7.15
• Percona Server < 5.5.51-38.1
• Percona Server < 5.6.32-78.0
• Percona Server < 5.7.14-7
• Mariadb < 5.5.51
• Mariadb < 10.0.27

Attack profile CVSS 3.0 · 9.8

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

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