CVE-2016-10708

CVE-2016-10708 is a high-severity vulnerability in Openbsd Openssh with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 16% places it in the 96th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-476.

Key facts

• Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.5)
• CVSS v2: 5.0
• EPSS exploit prediction: 16% (96th percentile)
• Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
• Weakness: CWE-476
• Affected product: Openbsd Openssh
• Published: 2018-01-21
• Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

sshd in OpenSSH before 7.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and daemon crash) via an out-of-sequence NEWKEYS message, as demonstrated by Honggfuzz, related to kex.c and packet.c.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-10708?

sshd in OpenSSH before 7.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and daemon crash) via an out-of-sequence NEWKEYS message, as demonstrated by Honggfuzz, related to kex.c and packet.c.

How severe is CVE-2016-10708?

CVE-2016-10708 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-10708 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 16% (96th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-10708?

CVE-2016-10708 primarily affects Openbsd Openssh. In total, 15 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-10708?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2016-10708 published?

CVE-2016-10708 was published on 2018-01-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

• http://blog.swiecki.net/2018/01/fuzzing-tcp-servers.html
• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102780
• https://anongit.mindrot.org/openssh.git/commit/?id=28652bca29046f62c7045e933e6b931de1d16737
• https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-676336.pdf
• https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10284
• https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/01/msg00031.html
• https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/09/msg00010.html
• https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20180423-0003/
• https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K32485746?utm_source=f5support&amp%3Butm_medium=RSS
• https://usn.ubuntu.com/3809-1/
• https://www.openssh.com/releasenotes.html

Affected products (15)

• cpe:2.3:a:openbsd:openssh:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:cloud_backup:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:data_ontap:-:*:*:*:*:7-mode:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:data_ontap_edge:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:oncommand_unified_manager:*:*:*:*:*:vsphere:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:service_processor:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:storagegrid:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:storagegrid_webscale:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:o:netapp:clustered_data_ontap:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:vasa_provider:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Openbsd Openssh

• CVE-2003-0786 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The SSH1 PAM challenge response authentication in OpenSSH 3.7.1 and 3.7.1p1, when Privilege Separation is disabled,…
• CVE-2003-0693 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A "buffer management error" in buffer_append_space of buffer.c for OpenSSH before 3.7 may allow remote attackers to…
• CVE-2002-0640 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Buffer overflow in sshd in OpenSSH 2.3.1 through 3.3 may allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a large…
• CVE-2001-0144 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): CORE SDI SSH1 CRC-32 compensation attack detector allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on an SSH…
• CVE-2000-0999 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Format string vulnerabilities in OpenBSD ssh program (and possibly other BSD-based operating systems) allow attackers…
• CVE-2000-0525 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): OpenSSH does not properly drop privileges when the UseLogin option is enabled, which allows local users to execute…

All CVEs affecting Openbsd Openssh →

Other CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities

• CVE-2022-36648 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The hardware emulation in the of_dpa_cmd_add_l2_flood of rocker device model in QEMU, as used in 7.0.0 and earlier,…
• CVE-2020-14500 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Secomea GateManager all versions prior to 9.2c, An attacker can send a negative value and overwrite arbitrary data.
• CVE-2010-2495 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The pppol2tp_xmit function in drivers/net/pppol2tp.c in the L2TP implementation in the Linux kernel before 2.6.34 does…
• CVE-2026-46195 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: validate dacloffset before building…
• CVE-2026-31657 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: hold claim backbone gateways by…
• CVE-2026-31436 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dmaengine: idxd: fix possible wrong descriptor…

Browse all CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) vulnerabilities →

Threat intelligence

Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE:

• 122.114.69.235 (ipv4-addr)
• 92.47.46.174 (ipv4-addr)
• 76.12.128.249 (ipv4-addr)
• 64.53.7.231 (ipv4-addr)
• 62.182.118.138 (ipv4-addr)
• 61.76.136.25 (ipv4-addr)
• 213.135.175.76 (ipv4-addr)
• 187.237.47.214 (ipv4-addr)