CVE-2016-20015: ebuild package · Race Condition
Source CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 51% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 20 Sep 2022
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
AI-suggested
To mitigate CVE-2016-20015, European organizations should first verify if they are running the affected version of SmokePing (2.7.3-r1) on Gentoo Linux. Immediate steps include: 1) Applying any available patches or updates from the Gentoo security team or SmokePing maintainers that address this race condition. 2) Restricting access to the smokeping user account and limiting who can execute or modify the initialization scripts to reduce the risk of local exploitation. 3) Implementing file system monitoring and integrity checks on /var/lib/smokeping and related directories to detect unauthorized changes. 4) Employing mandatory access control (MAC) systems such as SELinux or AppArmor to constrain the smokeping user's capabilities and prevent unauthorized file ownership changes. 5) Conducting regular audits of user privileges and monitoring logs for suspicious activity related to the smokeping service. 6) Considering containerization or sandboxing of the SmokePing service to isolate it from critical system components. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on controlling the smokeping user's environment and hardening the specific attack surface related to this vulnerability.
Description
In the ebuild package through smokeping-2.7.3-r1 for SmokePing on Gentoo, the initscript allows the smokeping user to gain ownership of any file, allowing for the smokeping user to gain root privileges. There is a race condition involving /var/lib/smokeping and chown.