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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2016-1908

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2017-04-11
  • Fixed in7.2
  • WeaknessCWE-287

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

The client in OpenSSH before 7.2 mishandles failed cookie generation for untrusted X11 forwarding and relies on the local X11 server for access-control decisions, which allows remote X11 clients to trigger a fallback and obtain trusted X11 forwarding privileges by leveraging configuration issues on this X11 server, as demonstrated by lack of the SECURITY extension on this X11 server.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2017-04-1118:59CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2026-10-2319:23EPSS crossed 10 %FIRST EPSS

Versions per branch

NVD
OpenSSH
BranchAffectedFixed in
7.2< 7.27.2
Redhat enterprise linux eus
BranchAffectedFixed in
7.2= 7.2no fix published
7.3= 7.3no fix published
7.4= 7.4no fix published
7.5= 7.5no fix published
7.6= 7.6no fix published
7.7= 7.7no fix published
Redhat enterprise linux server aus
BranchAffectedFixed in
7.2= 7.2no fix published
7.3= 7.3no fix published
7.4= 7.4no fix published
7.6= 7.6no fix published
7.7= 7.7no fix published

6 more products in the sources.

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

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • opensshUbuntu:14.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1:6.6p1-2ubuntu2.7
  • opensshSUSE:OpenStack Cloud 5all versions · fixed in 6.2p2-0.33.2
  • opensshSUSE:Manager Proxy 2.1all versions · fixed in 6.2p2-0.33.2
  • opensshSUSE:Manager 2.1all versions · fixed in 6.2p2-0.33.2
  • opensshSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1all versions · fixed in 6.6p1-42.1and 1 other package
  • opensshSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12all versions · fixed in 6.6p1-42.1and 1 other package
  • opensshSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 11 SP4all versions · fixed in 6.6p1-21.1
  • opensshSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1all versions · fixed in 6.6p1-42.1and 1 other package

36 more package ranges on OSV.dev

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2016-1908 Red Hat Product Security168 products fixed · 1 known affected

    openssh: possible fallback from untrusted to trusted X11 forwarding

    openssh.src as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

  • RHSA-2016:0741 Red Hat Product Security82 products fixed

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

  • RHSA-2016:0465 Red Hat Product Security86 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: openssh security update

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update OpenSSH to 7.2
  2. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2016:0741 · 82 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258 After installing this update, the OpenSSH server daemon (sshd) will be restarted automatically.
  3. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2016:0465 · 86 productsBefore applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied. For details on how to apply this update, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
  4. No fix planned, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2016-1908 · 1 productWill not fix

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof of concept
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2017-04-11
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-mgwc-m57j-46w8

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-1908?

The client in OpenSSH before 7.2 mishandles failed cookie generation for untrusted X11 forwarding and relies on the local X11 server for access-control decisions, which allows remote X11 clients to trigger a fallback and obtain trusted X11 forwarding privileges by leveraging configuration issues on this X11 server, as demonstrated by lack of the SECURITY extension on this X11 server.

Is CVE-2016-1908 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2016-1908 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 13.7% on 2026-11-09, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2016-1908?

CVE-2016-1908 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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