Skip to main content
No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2016-6172

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2016-09-26
  • WeaknessCWE-400

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

PowerDNS (aka pdns) Authoritative Server before 4.0.1 allows remote primary DNS servers to cause a denial of service (memory exhaustion and secondary DNS server crash) via a large (1) AXFR or (2) IXFR response.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2016-09-2616:59CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-03 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-2016-6172?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2016-6172?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Opensuse
BranchAffectedFixed in
13.2= 13.2no fix published
Opensuse leap
BranchAffectedFixed in
42.1= 42.1no fix published
Powerdns authoritative server
BranchAffectedFixed in
4.0≤ 4.0.0no fix published

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

  • pdnsUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTSall versions · no fixed version listed
  • pdnsopenSUSE:Tumbleweedall versions · fixed in 4.0.1-1.2
  • pdnsMageia:5all versions · fixed in 3.3.3-1.2.mga5
  • pdnsDebian:14all versions · fixed in 4.0.1-1
  • pdnsDebian:13all versions · fixed in 4.0.1-1
  • pdnsDebian:12all versions · fixed in 4.0.1-1
  • pdnsDebian:8all versions · fixed in 3.4.1-4+deb8u6
  • pdnsDebian:7all versions · fixed in 3.1-4.1+deb7u2

1 more package range on OSV.dev

Full record on NVD

Fix

Advisories and patches

Detection

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

Sources

  • NVDCVSS 3.06.8read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.07.1read 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-400read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score3.8 %2026-11-03
  • OSVaffected packages—

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Published
2016-09-26
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-6172?

PowerDNS (aka pdns) Authoritative Server before 4.0.1 allows remote primary DNS servers to cause a denial of service (memory exhaustion and secondary DNS server crash) via a large (1) AXFR or (2) IXFR response.

Is CVE-2016-6172 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2016-6172 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 3.8% on 2026-11-03, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2016-6172?

CVE-2016-6172 has a CVSS v3 base score of 6.8 (MEDIUM severity), with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Running pdns? Hear about its next vulnerability

Surveillance reads the versions in your stack — a domain, a lockfile or a list — checks each CVE against the ranges its sources publish, and alerts you when one you run is exploited or enters CISA KEV. A version it cannot read stays « version not verified ».

Get alerts for this productCISA KEV additions, November 2026Search CVEs

No credit card required · No monthly cap on website lookups · 250 API requests/month

Go further

Related vulnerabilities

Same product first, then the same vendor advisory and the same publication week.

Back to CVE Database

Sources for this record