Public proof of conceptFix available

CVE-2008-0166

A public proof of concept exists; no exploitation attested.

Published2008-05-13
WeaknessCWE-338

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

OpenSSL 0.9.8c-1 up to versions before 0.9.8g-9 on Debian-based operating systems uses a random number generator that generates predictable numbers, which makes it easier for remote attackers to conduct brute force guessing attacks against cryptographic keys.

Timeline

dates in UTC

2008-05-1317:20CVE publishedNVD
2026-10-2319:23First public proof of conceptPoC-in-GitHub
2026-10-2319:23EPSS crossed 10 %FIRST EPSS

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 21:37 UTC

Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days

Block these indicators

Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2008-0166?format=txt
CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2008-0166?format=csv
TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD

Canonical ubuntu linux

Branch	Affected	Fixed in	Source
6.6	= 6.06	no fix published	NVD
7.4	= 7.04	no fix published	NVD
7.10	= 7.10	no fix published	NVD
8.4	= 8.04	no fix published	NVD

Debian debian linux

Branch	Affected	Fixed in	Source
4.0	= 4.0	no fix published	NVD

OpenSSL

Branch	Affected	Fixed in	Source
0.9	≥ 0.9.8c-1, ≤ 0.9.8g	no fix published	NVD

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

Advisories and patches

secunia.comVendor Advisory
secunia.comVendor Advisory
secunia.comVendor Advisory
secunia.comVendor Advisory
secunia.comVendor Advisory
secunia.comVendor Advisory

Detection

read 2026-10-23 19:23 UTC

Nuclei template: none so far
Exploit-DB: no entry
Proof-of-concept repositories: 7 repositories, unverifiedg0tmi1k/debian-sshavarx/vulnkeysbadkeys/debianopenssldemining/Vulnerable-to-Debian-OpenSSL-bug-CVE-2008-0166AhegaoPsyops/sslWeakness

Sources

NVDCVSS 3.17.5read 2026-10-23
NVDCVSS 2.07.8read 2026-10-23
NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-338read 2026-10-23
FIRST EPSSEPSS score70.7 %read 2026-10-23
PoC-in-GitHubproof of concept7read 2026-10-23

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Published: 2008-05-13
Last Modified: 2026-06-16
NVD status: Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2008-0166?

Is CVE-2008-0166 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2008-0166 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 70.7% on 2026-10-22, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2008-0166?

CVE-2008-0166 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.

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