CVE-2018-16158
Eaton Power Xpert Meter 4000, 6000, and 8000 devices before 13.4.0.10 have a single SSH private...
Eaton Power Xpert Meter 4000, 6000, and 8000 devices before 13.4.0.10 have a single SSH private key across different customers' installations and do not properly restrict access to this key, which makes it easier for remote attackers to perform SSH logins (to uid 0) via the PubkeyAuthentication option.
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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
9.8
Eaton Power Xpert Meter 4000, 6000, and 8000 devices before 13.4.0.10 have a single SSH private key across different customers' installations and do not properly restrict access to this key, which makes it easier for remote attackers to perform SSH logins (to uid 0) via the PubkeyAuthentication option.
- Record
CVE-2018-16158- CVSS 3.0
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 10.0 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-798
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Eaton Power Xpert Meter 4000, 6000, and 8000 devices before 13.4.0.10 have a single SSH private key across different customers' installations and do not properly restrict access to this key, which makes it easier for remote attackers to perform SSH logins (to uid 0) via the PubkeyAuthentication option.
- Record
CVE-2018-16158- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2018-8012 No score
Eaton Power Xpert Meter 4000, 6000, and 8000 devices before 13.4.0.10 have a single SSH private key across different customers' installations and do not properly restrict access to this key, which makes it easier for remote attackers to perform SSH logins (to uid 0) via the PubkeyAuthentication option.
- Record
EUVD-2018-8012- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-fmmf-r287-5vmf
9.8
Eaton Power Xpert Meter 4000, 6000, and 8000 devices before 13.4.0.10 have a single SSH private...
Eaton Power Xpert Meter 4000, 6000, and 8000 devices before 13.4.0.10 have a single SSH private key across different customers' installations and do not properly restrict access to this key, which makes it easier for remote attackers to perform SSH logins (to uid 0) via the PubkeyAuthentication option.
- Record
GHSA-fmmf-r287-5vmf- CVSS 3.0
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-798
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Metasploit | Eaton Xpert Meter SSH Private Key Exposure Scanner | 2018-07-18 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, Metasploit, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2018-16158 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Eaton Power Xpert Meter 4000 Firmware, published August 30, 2018. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 30.3%, the 98th percentile. No source names a fixed version.