CVE-2016-7456

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

Score 9.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: CRITICAL) published 2022-05-17. NVD baseline CVSS 9.8; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
Weaponized
9.8
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 33%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

VMware vSphere Data Protection (VDP) 5.5.x though 6.1.x has an SSH private key with a publicly known password, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain login access via an SSH session.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8(medium)
EG Risk
75(Track*)
EG Risk 75/100SSVC: Track*

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
Severity98% × 45%
Exploitation65% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Watch closely — could escalate to Attend.
EPSS
98.2%
KEV
Not listed

Published

December 29, 2016

Last Modified

May 6, 2026

Advisory Details (2)

Auto-updated May 8, 2026
No patch confirmed yet.
generic

Support Content Notification - Support Portal - Broadcom support portal

http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2016-0024.html
generic
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94990

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 10× in last 7d / 29× 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.

  1. 2026-07-24 14:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-23 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-23 01:24 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-07-22 22:03 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-07-22 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-20 17:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-19 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-19 02:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-07-18 10:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-07-18 10:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-16 16:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-07-16 16:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-07-13 22:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-07-13 06:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-12 05:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-07-12 05:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-07-11 08:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-07-09 19:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-07-08 15:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-07-07 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-07-04 06:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 49 more
  1. 2026-06-30 23:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-06-28 04:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-06-27 03:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-17 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-17 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-16 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-14 23:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-14 23:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-06-02 20:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-05-31 00:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-05-24 16:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  36. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  37. 2026-05-20 09:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  38. 2026-05-20 05:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-05-20 01:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  40. 2026-05-19 21:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-05-19 17:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  42. 2026-05-19 13:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-05-19 09:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  44. 2026-05-19 05:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  45. 2026-05-19 00:58 UTCEG score recompute
  46. 2026-05-19 00:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  47. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  48. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  49. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore

Publicly available exploits

(1 reference)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Metasploitexploit/linux/ssh/vmware_vdp_known_privkey✓ verified
    First seen Dec 20, 2016

    VMware VDP Known SSH Key

    Open source ↗

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2016-7456?
CVE-2016-7456 is a critical vulnerability published on December 29, 2016. VMware vSphere Data Protection (VDP) 5.5.x though 6.1.x has an SSH private key with a publicly known password, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain login access via an SSH session.
When was CVE-2016-7456 disclosed?
CVE-2016-7456 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on December 29, 2016, with the most recent update on May 6, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2016-7456 actively exploited?
CVE-2016-7456 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 98.2% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-7456?
CVE-2016-7456 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2016-7456?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2016-7456, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2016-7456

Explore →

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2016-7456?

EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.

Start Free Scan →Browse All CVEs