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NVD / CVE Program· CNA cisco

CVE-2016-6415: The server IKEv1 implementation in Cisco IOS 12.2 through 12.4 and 15.0 through 15.6, IOS XE through 3.18S, IOS XR 4.3.x and 5.0.x through…

HighCVSS 7.5 · v3.1KEVWeaponized No fix recorded

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Now (action score 86/100)

  • CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (May 19, 2023). Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Jun 9, 2023.
  • A ready-made attack module is public (Metasploit); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 87.6% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 99.7% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
  • According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.

Patch today or shut off access. Until a fix is released, restrict access to the affected component and follow the vendor's advisory.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · CISA KEV · FIRST EPSS

The server IKEv1 implementation in Cisco IOS 12.2 through 12.4 and 15.0 through 15.6, IOS XE through 3.18S, IOS XR 4.3.x and 5.0.x through 5.2.x, and PIX before 7.0 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from device memory via a Security Association (SA) negotiation request, aka Bug IDs CSCvb29204 and CSCvb36055 or BENIGNCERTAIN.

Published
Sep 18, 2016
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
87.6% · 99th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

86

Now

Patch today or shut off access.

CVSS
30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
CISA KEV
30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS
26 / 30 · 87.6%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
active
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

Actively exploited in the wild

CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on May 19, 2023. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Jun 9, 2023.

Get told when this record changes

  • In CISA KEV: exploitation in the wild confirmed
  • Weaponized exploit exists
  • No fixed version yet

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2016-6415

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
ciscoios
ciscoios xe
ciscoios xr

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • cisco ios12.2 and later · up to 12.4 inclusive
  • cisco ios15.0 and later · up to 15.6 inclusive
  • cisco ios xeup to 3.18s inclusive
  • cisco ios xr4.3.0 and later · up to 4.3.4 inclusive
  • cisco ios xr5.0.0 and later · before 5.3.0

Same product

cisco: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2018-0171A vulnerability in the Smart Install feature of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote…KEV
    99Now
  • CVE-2017-3881A vulnerability in the Cisco Cluster Management Protocol (CMP) processing code in Cisco IOS and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an…KEV
    99Now
  • CVE-2017-6736The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) subsystem of Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software contains multiple vulnerabilities that could allow…KEV
    86Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2016-6403Sep 18, 2016 · The Data in Motion (DMo) application in Cisco IOS 15.6(1)T and IOS XE, when the IOx feature set is enabled, allows remote attackers to…
    23Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2016-6404Sep 18, 2016 · Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the web framework in Cisco IOx Local Manager in IOS 15.5(2)T and IOS XE allows remote attackers…
    24Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2014-2146Sep 22, 2016 · The Zone-Based Firewall (ZBFW) functionality in Cisco IOS, possibly 15.4 and earlier, and IOS XE, possibly 3.13 and earlier, mishandles…
    26Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

Weaponized

A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.

Evidence

  • Metasploit module ×1
  • Exploit-DB entry ×1
  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×1

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Exploit-DB entryremote2017-03-17
Metasploit moduleauxiliary/scanner/ike/cisco_ike_benigncertainCisco IKE Information Disclosureauxiliary2016-09-29
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:112020-11-04

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Published
  2. Metasploit+10 d
  3. First PoC+179 d
  4. CISA KEV+2433 d
  5. TodayNov 15, 2026+3710 d

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
none
Availability
none
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-200 · Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

nvd-primary

Root cause

The extension requests broader permissions than its function needs and sends the data it collects out for purposes beyond its stated function.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-200 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

json
{  "permissions": ["tabs", "<all_urls>"],  "background": { "service_worker": "analytics.js" }}

Fixed

json
{  "permissions": ["activeTab"],  "host_permissions": ["https://yildiz.example/*"]}

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

References

Show all references (3 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records