How severe is CVE-2016-7406?

CVE-2016-7406 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-7406 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 10% (95th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-7406?

CVE-2016-7406 affects Dropbear Ssh Project Dropbear Ssh. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-7406?

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

When was CVE-2016-7406 published?

CVE-2016-7406 was published on 2017-03-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-7406

CVE-2016-7406 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Dropbear Ssh Project Dropbear Ssh with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 10% places it in the 95th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-20.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 10.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 10% (95th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-20
Affected product: Dropbear Ssh Project Dropbear Ssh
Published: 2017-03-03
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Format string vulnerability in Dropbear SSH before 2016.74 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers in the (1) username or (2) host argument.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-7406?: Format string vulnerability in Dropbear SSH before 2016.74 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers in the (1) username or (2) host argument.
How severe is CVE-2016-7406?: CVE-2016-7406 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2016-7406 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 10% (95th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-7406?: CVE-2016-7406 affects Dropbear Ssh Project Dropbear Ssh. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-7406?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2016-7406 published?: CVE-2016-7406 was published on 2017-03-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:dropbear_ssh_project:dropbear_ssh:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Dropbear Ssh Project Dropbear Ssh

CVE-2016-7407 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The dropbearconvert command in Dropbear SSH before 2016.74 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted…
CVE-2017-9078 — High (CVSS 8.8): The server in Dropbear before 2017.75 might allow post-authentication root remote code execution because of a double…
CVE-2016-7408 — High (CVSS 8.8): The dbclient in Dropbear SSH before 2016.74 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted (1) -m or…
CVE-2020-36254 — High (CVSS 8.1): scp.c in Dropbear before 2020.79 mishandles the filename of . or an empty filename, a related issue to CVE-2018-20685.
CVE-2021-36369 — High (CVSS 7.5): An issue was discovered in Dropbear through 2020.81. Due to a non-RFC-compliant check of the available authentication…
CVE-2007-1099 — High (CVSS 7.5): dbclient in Dropbear SSH client before 0.49 does not sufficiently warn the user when it detects a hostkey mismatch,…

All CVEs affecting Dropbear Ssh Project Dropbear Ssh →

Other CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-48316 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): ColdFusion versions 2025.9, 2023.20 and earlier are affected by an Improper Input Validation vulnerability that could…
CVE-2026-48281 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): ColdFusion versions 2025.9, 2023.20 and earlier are affected by an Improper Input Validation vulnerability that could…
CVE-2026-48277 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): ColdFusion versions 2025.9, 2023.20 and earlier are affected by an Improper Input Validation vulnerability that could…
CVE-2026-48055 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Streambert is a cross-platform Electron Desktop App to stream and download any video media. In versions 2.4.0 and…
CVE-2026-34910 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A malicious actor with access to the network could exploit an Improper Input Validation vulnerability found in UniFi OS…
CVE-2026-33587 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Lack of user input sanitisation in Open Notebook v1.8.3 allows the application user to execute Python code (and…

Browse all CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) vulnerabilities →