CVE-2008-0166

HIGHNVD 7.58.6▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 8.6 because EPSS predicts 71% probability of exploitation within the next 30 days (99th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs). NVD baseline CVSS 7.5 retained for reference. Confidence: see factors.

Triggered by: EPSS exploit prediction (continuous uplift above 30%)
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
Weaponized
8.6EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch this weekExploitation is likely or a public exploit exists.
  • High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 71%
  • Public exploit code is available (Exploit-DB (verified), epss top5pct, epss high, public exploit)
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 71%CVSS: 7.5Exploit: Exploit-DB (verified) · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is available — apply it.

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.

CVSS v3
7.5
EG Score
8.6HIGHhigh confidence
EG Risk
71
EG Risk 71/100CISA SSVC

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity86% × 45%
Exploitation71% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
CISA SSVC: Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* or Attend at high (mission-essential systems).
Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.
EPSS PROB
71%
EPSS %ILE
99th
KEV
Not listed

CISA SSVCTrack at low or medium mission impact; Track* or Attend at high (mission-essential systems).

A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.

Exploitation public PoC (EG-KEV: weaponized) · Automatable unknown (not published for this CVE) · Technical impact partial (CVSS below 9.0). Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it: high means the affected system is essential to your organisation's mission, or its compromise could cause irreversible harm to people. CISA's decision table

Published

May 13, 2008

Last Modified

April 23, 2026

Advisory Details (9)

Auto-updated May 30, 2026
Patch available.
genericMentions a patch (unverified)

[SECURITY] [DSA 1576-1] New openssh packages fix predictable randomness

http://www.debian.org/security/2008/dsa-1576
genericMentions a patch (unverified)

[SECURITY] [DSA 1571-1] New openssl packages fix predictable random number generator

http://www.debian.org/security/2008/dsa-1571
generic

Thread: Advisory - Rsyncrypto maybe affected from Debian OpenSSL reduced entropy problem | rsync friendly file encryption

http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_name=48367252.7070603%40shemesh.biz&forum_name=rsyncrypto-devel
generic

About Secunia Research | Flexera

http://secunia.com/advisories/30249
generic

About Secunia Research | Flexera

http://secunia.com/advisories/30239
generic

About Secunia Research | Flexera

http://secunia.com/advisories/30231
generic

About Secunia Research | Flexera

http://secunia.com/advisories/30221
generic

About Secunia Research | Flexera

http://secunia.com/advisories/30220
generic

About Secunia Research | Flexera

http://secunia.com/advisories/30136

Patch Availability(5)

Vendor / EcosystemFix (by version range) / PatchReleasedSource
ubuntulibssl0.9.8 (0.9.8c-4ubuntu0.3) @ feisty2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntuopenssh-server (1:4.2p1-7ubuntu3.4) @ dapper2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntussl-cert (1.0.14-0ubuntu2.1) @ hardy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntuopenvpn (2.1~rc7-1ubuntu3.1) @ hardy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntuopenssh-client (1:4.7p1-8ubuntu1.1) @ hardy2026-05-30ubuntu

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Affected Packages

(10 across 5 ecosystems)
Debian:11(2)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
openssh—
  • every version up to 4.7p1-9: fixed in 4.7p1-9
—
openssl—
  • every version up to 0.9.8g-9: fixed in 0.9.8g-9
—
Debian:12(2)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
openssh—
  • every version up to 4.7p1-9: fixed in 4.7p1-9
—
openssl—
  • every version up to 0.9.8g-9: fixed in 0.9.8g-9
—
Debian:13(2)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
openssh—
  • every version up to 4.7p1-9: fixed in 4.7p1-9
—
openssl—
  • every version up to 0.9.8g-9: fixed in 0.9.8g-9
—
Debian:14(2)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
openssh—
  • every version up to 4.7p1-9: fixed in 4.7p1-9
—
openssl—
  • every version up to 0.9.8g-9: fixed in 0.9.8g-9
—
Debian:4.0(2)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
openssh1:4.3p2-9, 1:4.3p2-9etch1
  • every version up to 1:4.3p2-9etch2: fixed in 1:4.3p2-9etch2
—
openssl0.9.8c-4, 0.9.8c-4etch1, 0.9.8c-4etch2
  • every version up to 0.9.8c-4etch3: fixed in 0.9.8c-4etch3
—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

All Vendor Advisories

(5)

Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 5× in last 7d / 12× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 107 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-10-09 20:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-10-07 23:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-10-06 15:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-10-04 03:38 UTCOSV refresh
  5. 2026-10-03 14:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-10-01 19:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-09-29 07:46 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-09-18 19:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-09-17 19:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-09-15 03:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-09-14 18:14 UTCOSV refresh
  12. 2026-09-12 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-09-05 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-09-04 04:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-08-30 01:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-08-26 17:36 UTCOSV refresh
  17. 2026-08-10 07:40 UTCOSV refresh
  18. 2026-08-06 13:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-07-30 16:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-07-28 15:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-07-25 14:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-07-25 08:11 UTCOSV refresh
  23. 2026-07-24 14:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-07-23 00:55 UTCEG score recompute
  25. 2026-07-23 00:34 UTCEG score recompute
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-07-23 00:00 UTCEG score recompute▲ 1.10
  2. 2026-07-22 21:39 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-07-22 14:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-21 15:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-20 17:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-16 16:58 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-07-13 06:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-07-11 08:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-08 15:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-07-08 02:35 UTCOSV refresh
  13. 2026-07-04 06:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-07-04 06:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-07-02 14:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-27 03:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-25 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-25 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-23 21:29 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-23 21:29 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-21 14:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-06-21 01:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-06-21 01:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-06-19 14:55 UTCOSV refresh
  29. 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  36. 2026-06-15 17:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  37. 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  38. 2026-06-12 23:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  39. 2026-06-10 22:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  40. 2026-06-10 13:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  41. 2026-06-08 14:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  42. 2026-06-07 15:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  43. 2026-06-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  44. 2026-06-06 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  45. 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  46. 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  47. 2026-06-05 06:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  48. 2026-06-04 13:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  49. 2026-06-04 13:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  50. 2026-06-04 13:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  51. 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  52. 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  53. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  54. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  55. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  56. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  57. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  58. 2026-05-31 00:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  59. 2026-05-31 00:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  60. 2026-05-30 21:50 UTCEG score recompute
  61. 2026-05-30 21:50 UTCVendor advisory
  62. 2026-05-30 21:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  63. 2026-05-29 13:40 UTCEPSS rescore
  64. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  65. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  66. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  67. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  68. 2026-05-27 13:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  69. 2026-05-27 13:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  70. 2026-05-26 07:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  71. 2026-05-26 07:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  72. 2026-05-24 16:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  73. 2026-05-22 22:48 UTCOSV refresh
  74. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  75. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore

Publicly available exploits

(6 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (3 GitHub PoCs) (3 Exploit-DB entries). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-5720✓ verified
    First seen Jun 1, 2008

    OpenSSL 0.9.8c-1 < 0.9.8g-9 (Debian and Derivatives) - Predictable PRNG Brute Force SSH

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-5632✓ verified
    First seen May 16, 2008

    OpenSSL 0.9.8c-1 < 0.9.8g-9 (Debian and Derivatives) - Predictable PRNG Brute Force SSH (Ruby)

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-5622✓ verified
    First seen May 15, 2008

    OpenSSL 0.9.8c-1 < 0.9.8g-9 (Debian and Derivatives) - Predictable PRNG Brute Force SSH

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCdemining/Vulnerable-to-Debian-OpenSSL-bug-CVE-2008-0166
    First seen Aug 26, 2022

    Search for BTC coins on earlier versions of Bitcoin Core with critical vulnerability OpenSSL 0.9.8 CVE-2008-0166

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCbadkeys/debianopenssl
    First seen May 15, 2022

    Private keys vulnerable to Debian OpenSSL bug (CVE-2008-0166)

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCg0tmi1k/debian-ssh
    First seen Sep 22, 2013

    Debian OpenSSL Predictable PRNG (CVE-2008-0166)

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same product + same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2008-0166?
CVE-2008-0166 is a high vulnerability published on May 13, 2008. 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.
When was CVE-2008-0166 disclosed?
CVE-2008-0166 was first published on May 13, 2008, with the most recent update on April 23, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2008-0166 actively exploited?
CVE-2008-0166 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. EchelonGraph's EG-KEV model classifies it as weaponized: a functional public exploit exists. FIRST EPSS estimates a 71% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (99th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2008-0166?
CVE-2008-0166 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 8.6 (HIGH).
How do I remediate CVE-2008-0166?
A fix for CVE-2008-0166 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory.

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