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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2016-8858

The kex_input_kexinit function in kex.c in OpenSSH 6.x and 7.x through 7.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) by sending many du…

Published Dec 9, 2016 · catalog updated Jun 17, 2026 · the affected product

Last checked Nov 7, 2026. A connected source was read within the last 7 days.

Check this week

CVE-2016-8858 is not in CISA KEV. FIRST estimates a 29.46% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Check whether you run the affected product.

Gaps on this record

  • No plain product name is stored. The page cannot tell you which product to check.
  • No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.

Same product and reporting

Severity
High7.5
Known exploitation
Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
29.46%
Remediation
Advisory link
Affected products
cpe openbsd/openssh

The kex_input_kexinit function in kex.c in OpenSSH 6.x and 7.x through 7.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) by sending many duplicate KEXINIT requests. NOTE: a third party reports that "OpenSSH upstream does not consider this as a security issue."

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • cpe openbsd/openssh6.8
  • cpe openbsd/openssh6.9
  • cpe openbsd/openssh7.0
  • cpe openbsd/openssh7.1
  • cpe openbsd/openssh7.2
  • cpe openbsd/openssh7.3

How to fix CVE-2016-8858

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

CVE-2016-8858 is not in CISA KEV. FIRST estimates a 29.46% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Check whether you run the affected product.

Which versions are affected?

Compare what you have installed with 6.8, 6.9, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-399; CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption. EPSS 29.46%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Technology hubs

OpenSSH security

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Dec 9, 2016 · Monitored products — critical

    Detected

    The kex_input_kexinit function in kex.c in OpenSSH 6.x and 7.x through 7.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) by sending many duplicate KEXINIT requests. NOTE: a third party reports that "OpenSSH upstream does not consider this as a security issue."

  2. Jun 17, 2026 · Monitored products — critical

    Updated

    The kex_input_kexinit function in kex.c in OpenSSH 6.x and 7.x through 7.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) by sending many duplicate KEXINIT requests. NOTE: a third party reports that "OpenSSH upstream does not consider this as a security issue."

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2016-8858

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • Monitored products — criticalVendor advisoryCVE-2016-8858

    The kex_input_kexinit function in kex.c in OpenSSH 6.x and 7.x through 7.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) by sending many duplicate KEXINIT requests. NOTE: a third party reports that "OpenSSH upstream does not consider this as a security issue."

    nvd.nist.gov

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Nov 7, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.

  • CVE.orgNov 4, 2026
  • Monitored products — criticalNov 4, 2026