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CVE-2016-7456

52
FAUCET Score

CVE-2016-7456 is a critical vulnerability affecting VMware vSphere Data Protection (VDP) versions 5.5.x through 6.1.x, where a publicly known password for an SSH private key allows remote attackers to gain login access. With a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical), this vulnerability presents a high risk due to its network-based attack vector, low attack complexity, and potential for complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. While not listed on the KEV catalog, a Metasploit module exists for exploitation, and the vulnerability has garnered significant community discussion and media coverage, indicating its potential for widespread abuse.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
5.5.1CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vsphere_data_protection:5.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
5.5.5CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vsphere_data_protection:5.5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
5.5.6CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vsphere_data_protection:5.5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
5.5.7CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vsphere_data_protection:5.5.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
5.5.8CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:vmware:vsphere_data_protection:5.5.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 3.0

9.8CRITICAL

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
HIGH
Integrity Impact
HIGH
Availability Impact
HIGH
Exploitability Score
3.9
Impact Score
5.9
CvssVersion
3.0

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
32.79%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
98.2%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-25
Model: v2026.06.15
Metasploit: VMware VDP Known SSH Key · Dec 20, 2016
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.3279 is in the 95th percentile among its peer group of 36,829 CVEs.

Social Chatter

No social media mentions found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.1 Reddit, 0.3 Bluesky, 0.3 Mastodon, and 2.4 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.3 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Vendor Patches (1)

vmwarevendor investigatingvia nvd_reference
View patch

References

securityfocus.com / bid/94990
Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
securitytracker.com / id/1037502
Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
vmware.com / security/advisories/VMSA-2016-0024.html
Vendor Advisory