{"id":"CVE-2016-6515","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2016-6515","generatedAt":"2026-11-05T05:24:18.428Z","title":"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.","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.","published":"2016-08-07T21:59:10.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-17T00:51:18.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"cve@mitre.org","cvss":{"version":"3.0","score":7.5,"severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"},"cwe":["CWE-20"],"affected":["openbsd/openssh","fedoraproject/fedora"],"epss":{"score":0.58568,"percentile":0.99103,"date":"2026-11-04","history":[{"date":"2026-09-21","score":0.4616,"percentile":0.98795},{"date":"2026-09-22","score":0.58568,"percentile":0.99059}]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":1,"verified":false,"firstPublished":"2016-12-07","source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[{"edbId":40888,"kind":"exploit","title":"OpenSSH 7.2 - Denial of Service","url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40888","sourceUrl":"https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb/-/blob/main/exploits/linux/dos/40888.py","file":"exploits/linux/dos/40888.py","published":"2016-12-07","added":"2016-12-07","updated":"2016-12-07","author":"SecPod Research","type":"dos","platform":"linux","port":null,"verified":false,"codes":["CVE-2016-6515"],"tags":null,"aliases":null,"applicationUrl":"http://www.exploit-db.comopenssh-7.2p2.tar.gz","screenshotUrl":null,"referenceUrl":null}]},"verdict":{"level":"urgent","text":"EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 58.6%, higher than 99% of all known CVEs. Patch or mitigate before the next change window."},"changes":[{"kind":"epss","label":"EPSS jump","at":"2026-09-22T00:00:00.000Z","detail":{"to":0.58568,"from":0.4616,"percentile":0.99059},"summary":"EPSS moved from 46.2% to 58.6% probability of exploitation in the next thirty days."}],"references":[{"url":"http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/08/01/2","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/140070/OpenSSH-7.2-Denial-Of-Service.html","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2017-3236626.html","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92212","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036487","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2029","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-412672.pdf","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-676336.pdf","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://github.com/openssh/openssh-portable/commit/fcd135c9df440bcd2d5870405ad3311743d78d97","tags":["Issue Tracking","Patch"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/09/msg00010.html","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/X2L6RW34VFNXYNVVN2CN73YAGJ5VMTFU/","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-17:06.openssh.asc","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20171130-0003/","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbhf03779en_us","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40888/","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/08/01/2","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/140070/OpenSSH-7.2-Denial-Of-Service.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2017-3236626.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92212","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036487","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2029","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-412672.pdf","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-676336.pdf","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://github.com/openssh/openssh-portable/commit/fcd135c9df440bcd2d5870405ad3311743d78d97","tags":["Issue Tracking","Patch"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/09/msg00010.html","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/X2L6RW34VFNXYNVVN2CN73YAGJ5VMTFU/","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-17:06.openssh.asc","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20171130-0003/","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbhf03779en_us","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40888/","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6515","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}