CVE-2016-9435: The HTMLtagproc1 function in file.c in w3m before 0.5.3+git20161009 does not properly initialize values, wh...

Security readout for executives and security teams

CVE-2016-9435 is a denial-of-service issue in w3m, a text-based web browser. A specially crafted HTML file involving <dd> tags can crash the application. The sources do not indicate code execution, privilege escalation, or active exploitation. Exposure is likely limited to systems where w3m is installed and used to process untrusted HTML, including scripts, terminals, mail workflows, or automated fetch/render jobs. Treat as a low-priority reliability issue unless w3m processes untrusted HTML in production automation. Remediate through normal patch cycles and prioritize exposed automation paths. Mitigation focus: Update w3m to 0.5.3+git20161009 or a vendor-fixed package.; Check Gentoo, openSUSE, or upstream guidance for distribution-specific fixed versions.; Avoid processing untrusted HTML with vulnerable w3m builds until updated..

Prepared

Jun 13, 2026, 12:51 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.