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CVE-2016-6515

The auth_password function in auth-passwd.c in sshd in OpenSSH before 7.3 does not limit password...

7.5 HighPublic exploitFix available

CVE-2016-6515 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Openbsd Openssh, published August 7, 2016. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 58.6%, the 99th percentile. Fixed in openssh 6.8_p1-r8.

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.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
None
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

58.6%Up 10.9 points since Feb 4, 2022
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

NVD Score used 7.5

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.

Record
CVE-2016-6515
CVSS 3.0
7.5 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 2.0
7.8 HighAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
Weakness
CWE-20
Updated
2026-11-02
CVE List No score

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.

Record
CVE-2016-6515
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2016-7437 No score

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.

Record
EUVD-2016-7437
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-vf2p-h3m7-ch75 7.5

The auth_password function in auth-passwd.c in sshd in OpenSSH before 7.3 does not limit password...

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.

Record
GHSA-vf2p-h3m7-ch75
CVSS 3.0
7.5 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-20
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2016-6515 7.5

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.

Record
ALPINE-CVE-2016-6515
CVSS 3.0
7.5 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVBELL-CVE-2016-6515 7.5

CVE-2016-6515 does not affect BellSoft software

Record
BELL-CVE-2016-6515
CVSS 3.0
7.5 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
Show 11 moreShow less
OSV 7.5

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.

Record
CVE-2016-6515
CVSS 3.0
7.5 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2016-6515 7.5

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.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2016-6515
CVSS 3.0
7.5 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2017:2029 6.6

Red Hat Security Advisory: openssh security, bug fix, and enhancement update

Record
RHSA-2017:2029
CVSS 3.0
6.6 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2016-6515 7.5

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.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2016-6515
CVSS 3.0
7.5 HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2016-0280 No score

Updated openssh packages fix security vulnerability

The do_setup_env function in session.c in sshd in OpenSSH through 7.2p2, when the UseLogin feature is enabled and PAM is configured to read .pam_environment files in user home directories, allows local users to gain privileges by triggering a crafted environment for the /bin/login program, as demonstrated by an LD_PRELOAD environment variable (CVE-2015-8325).

When SSHD tries to authenticate a non-existing user, it will pick up a fake password structure hard-coded in the SSHD source code. An attacker can measure timing information to determine if a user exists when verifying a password (CVE-2016-6210).

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 (CVE-2016-6515).

Note that CVE-2015-8325 and CVE-2016-6210 wouldn't affect most Mageia systems, as UseLogin is not enabled by default and Mageia uses Blowfish password hashes by default.

Record
MGASA-2016-0280
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:10174-1 No score

openssh-7.2p2-3.1 on GA media

These are all security issues fixed in the openssh-7.2p2-3.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.

Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:10174-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2016:2280-1 No score

Security update for openssh

This update for openssh fixes the following issues:

  • Prevent user enumeration through the timing of password processing (bsc#989363, CVE-2016-6210) [-prevent_timing_user_enumeration]
  • Allow lowering the DH groups parameter limit in server as well as when GSSAPI key exchange is used (bsc#948902)
  • limit accepted password length (prevents possible DoS) (bsc#992533, CVE-2016-6515)

Bug fixes:

  • avoid complaining about unset DISPLAY variable (bsc#981654)
Record
SUSE-SU-2016:2280-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2016:2281-1 No score

Security update for openssh

This update for openssh fixes the following issues:

  • CVE-2016-6210: Prevent user enumeration through the timing of password processing (bsc#989363) [-prevent_timing_user_enumeration]
  • Allow lowering the DH groups parameter limit in server as well as when GSSAPI key exchange is used (bsc#948902)
  • CVE-2016-6515: Limiting the accepted password length to prevent possible DoS (bsc#992533)

Bug fixes:

  • avoid complaining about unset DISPLAY variable (bsc#981654)
Record
SUSE-SU-2016:2281-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2016:2388-1 No score

Security update for openssh

This update for OpenSSH fixes the following issues:

  • Prevent user enumeration through the timing of password processing. (bsc#989363, CVE-2016-6210)
  • Allow lowering the DH groups parameter limit in server as well as when GSSAPI key exchange is used. (bsc#948902)
  • Sanitize input for xauth(1). (bsc#970632, CVE-2016-3115)
  • Prevent X11 SECURITY circumvention when forwarding X11 connections. (bsc#962313, CVE-2016-1908)
  • Disable DH parameters under 2048 bits by default and allow lowering the limit back to the RFC 4419 specified minimum through an option. (bsc#932483, bsc#948902)
  • Ignore PAM environment when using login. (bsc#975865, CVE-2015-8325)
  • Limit the accepted password length (prevents a possible denial of service). (bsc#992533, CVE-2016-6515)
  • Relax version requires for the openssh-askpass sub-package. (bsc#962794)
  • Avoid complaining about unset DISPLAY variable. (bsc#981654)
  • Initialize message id to prevent connection breakups in some cases. (bsc#959096)
Record
SUSE-SU-2016:2388-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVSUSE-SU-2016:2555-1 No score

Security update for openssh-openssl1

This update for openssh-openssl1 fixes the following issues:

Security issues fixed:

  • CVE-2016-6210: Prevent user enumeration through the timing of password processing (bsc#989363)
  • CVE-2016-6515: limit accepted password length (prevents possible DoS) (bsc#992533)
  • CVE-2016-3115: Sanitise input for xauth(1) (bsc#970632)
  • CVE-2016-1908: prevent X11 SECURITY circumvention when forwarding X11 connections (bsc#962313)
  • CVE-2015-8325: ignore PAM environment when using login (bsc#975865)
  • Disable DH parameters under 2048 bits by default and allow lowering the limit back to the RFC 4419 specified minimum through an option (bsc#932483, bsc#948902)
  • Allow lowering the DH groups parameter limit in server as well as when GSSAPI key exchange is used (bsc#948902)

Bugs fixed:

  • avoid complaining about unset DISPLAY variable (bsc#981654)
  • Correctly parse GSSAPI KEX algorithms (bsc#961368)
  • more verbose FIPS mode/CC related documentation in README.FIPS (bsc#965576, bsc#960414)
  • fix PRNG re-seeding (bsc#960414, bsc#729190)
  • Allow empty Match blocks (bsc#961494)
Record
SUSE-SU-2016:2555-1
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUSN-3061-1 No score

openssh vulnerabilities

Eddie Harari discovered that OpenSSH incorrectly handled password hashing when authenticating non-existing users. A remote attacker could perform a timing attack and enumerate valid users. (CVE-2016-6210)

Tomas Kuthan, Andres Rojas, and Javier Nieto discovered that OpenSSH did not limit password lengths. A remote attacker could use this issue to cause OpenSSH to consume resources, leading to a denial of service. (CVE-2016-6515)

Record
USN-3061-1
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
openssh
Alpine:v3.2
before 6.8_p1-r8
6.8_p1-r8
openssh
Alpine:v3.3
before 7.2_p2-r2
7.2_p2-r2
openssh
Alpine:v3.4
before 7.2_p2-r2
7.2_p2-r2
openssh
Debian:12
before 1:7.3p1-1
1:7.3p1-1
openssh
Debian:13
before 1:7.3p1-1
1:7.3p1-1
openssh
Debian:14
before 1:7.3p1-1
1:7.3p1-1
openssh
Debian:8
before 1:6.7p1-5+deb8u6, plus listed versions
1:6.7p1-51:6.7p1-5+deb8u11:6.7p1-5+deb8u21:6.7p1-5+deb8u31:6.7p1-5+deb8u41:6.7p1-5+deb8u5
1:6.7p1-5+deb8u6
openssh
Debian:7
before 1:6.0p1-4+deb7u6, plus listed versions
1:6.0p1-41:6.0p1-4+deb7u11:6.0p1-4+deb7u21:6.0p1-4+deb7u31:6.0p1-4+deb7u41:6.0p1-4+deb7u5
1:6.0p1-4+deb7u6
openssh
Mageia:5
before 6.6p1-5.9.mga5
6.6p1-5.9.mga5
openssh-cavs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
Show 69 moreShow less
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
openssh-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-ldap
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-server-sysvinit
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
pam_ssh_agent_auth
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:0.10.3-1.11.el7
0:0.10.3-1.11.el7
openssh
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-askpass
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-clients
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-keycat
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-server
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-askpass
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-cavs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-ldap
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-server-sysvinit
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
pam_ssh_agent_auth
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:0.10.3-1.11.el7
0:0.10.3-1.11.el7
openssh
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-clients
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-keycat
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-server
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-cavs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-ldap
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-server-sysvinit
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
pam_ssh_agent_auth
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:0.10.3-1.11.el7
0:0.10.3-1.11.el7
openssh
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-askpass
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-clients
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-keycat
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-server
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-cavs
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-ldap
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-server-sysvinit
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
pam_ssh_agent_auth
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:0.10.3-1.11.el7
0:0.10.3-1.11.el7
openssh
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-askpass
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-clients
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-keycat
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh-server
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
before 0:7.4p1-11.el7
0:7.4p1-11.el7
openssh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1
before 6.6p1-52.1
6.6p1-52.1
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1
before 6.6p1-52.1
6.6p1-52.1
openssh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12
before 6.6p1-52.1
6.6p1-52.1
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12
before 6.6p1-52.1
6.6p1-52.1
openssh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12-LTSS
before 6.6p1-52.1
6.6p1-52.1
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12-LTSS
before 6.6p1-52.1
6.6p1-52.1
openssh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1
before 6.6p1-52.1
6.6p1-52.1
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1
before 6.6p1-52.1
6.6p1-52.1
openssh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1
before 6.6p1-52.1
6.6p1-52.1
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1
before 6.6p1-52.1
6.6p1-52.1
openssh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4
before 6.6p1-28.1
6.6p1-28.1
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4
before 6.6p1-28.2
6.6p1-28.2
openssh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 11 SP4
before 6.6p1-28.1
6.6p1-28.1
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 11 SP4
before 6.6p1-28.2
6.6p1-28.2
openssh
SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 5
before 6.2p2-0.33.2
6.2p2-0.33.2
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:OpenStack Cloud 5
before 6.2p2-0.33.5
6.2p2-0.33.5
openssh
SUSE:Manager 2.1
before 6.2p2-0.33.2
6.2p2-0.33.2
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Manager 2.1
before 6.2p2-0.33.5
6.2p2-0.33.5
openssh
SUSE:Manager Proxy 2.1
before 6.2p2-0.33.2
6.2p2-0.33.2
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Manager Proxy 2.1
before 6.2p2-0.33.5
6.2p2-0.33.5
openssh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3
before 6.2p2-0.33.2
6.2p2-0.33.2
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3
before 6.2p2-0.33.5
6.2p2-0.33.5
openssh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3-LTSS
before 6.2p2-0.33.2
6.2p2-0.33.2
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3-LTSS
before 6.2p2-0.33.5
6.2p2-0.33.5
openssh
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3-TERADATA
before 6.2p2-0.33.2
6.2p2-0.33.2
openssh-askpass-gnome
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3-TERADATA
before 6.2p2-0.33.5
6.2p2-0.33.5
openssh-openssl1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11-SECURITY
before 6.6p1-15.1
6.6p1-15.1
openssh
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS
before 1:6.6p1-2ubuntu2.8, plus listed versions
1:6.2p2-61:6.2p2-6ubuntu11:6.4p1-11:6.4p1-21:6.5p1-1
Show 13 moreShow less
1:6.5p1-21:6.5p1-31:6.5p1-41:6.5p1-61:6.6p1-11:6.6p1-21:6.6p1-2ubuntu11:6.6p1-2ubuntu21:6.6p1-2ubuntu2.21:6.6p1-2ubuntu2.31:6.6p1-2ubuntu2.41:6.6p1-2ubuntu2.61:6.6p1-2ubuntu2.7
1:6.6p1-2ubuntu2.8
openssh
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
before 1:7.2p2-4ubuntu2.1, plus listed versions
1:6.9p1-21:6.9p1-31:7.1p1-11:7.1p1-31:7.1p1-4
Show 9 moreShow less
1:7.1p1-61:7.1p2-11:7.1p2-21:7.2p1-11:7.2p2-11:7.2p2-21:7.2p2-31:7.2p2-41:7.2p2-4ubuntu1
1:7.2p2-4ubuntu2.1
openssh
openSUSE:Tumbleweed
before 7.2p2-3.1
7.2p2-3.1

Public exploits

Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.

Public exploits
SourceLinkDate
Exploit-DBOpenSSH 7.2 - Denial of Service2016-12-07
PoC in GitHubcved-sources/cve-2016-65152019-01-06
PoC in GitHubjptr218/openssh_dos2021-08-26
PoC in GitHubopsxcq/exploit-CVE-2016-65152016-12-09

History

History
WhenChangedSources
2026-11-03aliasesEUVD
2026-11-02createdCVE List, Exploit-DB, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub

References

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