CVE & CISA-KEV CatalogNVD
CVE-2016-6515
HIGHEPSS 99th pctl7.5
CVSS v3
Description
The auth_password function in auth-passwd.c in sshd in OpenSSH before 7.3 does not limit password lengths for password authentication, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crypt CPU consumption) via a long string.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
57.67%probability of exploitation in 30 days
99thpercentile
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 99% of all known CVEs.
References
- http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/08/01/2
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/140070/OpenSSH-7.2-Denial-Of-Service.html
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2017-3236626.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92212
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036487
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2029
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-412672.pdf
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-676336.pdf
- https://github.com/openssh/openssh-portable/commit/fcd135c9df440bcd2d5870405ad3311743d78d97
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/09/msg00010.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/X2L6RW34VFNXYNVVN2CN73YAGJ5VMTFU/
- https://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-17:06.openssh.asc
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20171130-0003/
- https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbhf03779en_us
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40888/
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Start freeThis product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-05-06.