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Public proof of conceptFix available

CVE-2016-8740

A public proof of concept exists; no exploitation attested.

  • Published2016-12-05
  • WeaknessCWE-20 · CWE-399

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 mod_http2 module in the Apache HTTP Server 2.4.17 through 2.4.23, when the Protocols configuration includes h2 or h2c, does not restrict request-header length, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via crafted CONTINUATION frames in an HTTP/2 request.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2016-12-0519:59CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2026-10-2319:23First public proof of conceptPoC-in-GitHub
  3. 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-2016-8740?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2016-8740?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Apache HTTP Server
BranchAffectedFixed in
2.4= 2.4.17no fix published
2.4= 2.4.18no fix published
2.4= 2.4.19no fix published
2.4= 2.4.20no fix published
2.4= 2.4.21no fix published
2.4= 2.4.22no fix published
2.4= 2.4.23no fix published

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

Fix

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-10-23 19:23 UTC
Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
2 repositories, unverifiedlcfpadilha/mac0352-ep4jptr218/apachedos
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

  • NVDCVSS 3.07.5read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.05read 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-20, CWE-399read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score79.1 %read 2026-10-23
  • PoC-in-GitHubproof of concept2read 2026-10-23

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Published
2016-12-05
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-8740?

The mod_http2 module in the Apache HTTP Server 2.4.17 through 2.4.23, when the Protocols configuration includes h2 or h2c, does not restrict request-header length, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via crafted CONTINUATION frames in an HTTP/2 request.

Is CVE-2016-8740 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2016-8740 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 79.1% on 2026-10-23, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2016-8740?

CVE-2016-8740 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

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