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CVE-2016-6305

25
FAUCET Score

CVE-2016-6305 describes a denial-of-service vulnerability in OpenSSL versions prior to 1.1.0a, specifically within the ssl3_read_bytes function. This flaw allows remote attackers to trigger an infinite loop by forcing a zero-length record during an SSL_peek call. With a CVSS score of 7.5 (High), it presents a significant risk due to its network-based attack vector and low attack complexity, leading to high availability impact. While no active exploitation or public exploit code (Metasploit, Nuclei, ExploitDB) has been identified, the vulnerability has garnered notable community discussion and media coverage, indicating its perceived importance.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
1.1.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:openssl:openssl:1.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 3.0

7.5HIGH

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

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact
NONE
Integrity Impact
NONE
Availability Impact
HIGH
Exploitability Score
3.9
Impact Score
3.6
CvssVersion
3.0

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
16.00%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
96.6%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-27
Model: v2026.06.15
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.1600 is in the 95th percentile among its peer group of 51,551 CVEs.

Social Chatter

No social media mentions found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.0 Reddit, 0.1 Bluesky, 0.1 Mastodon, and 0.4 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.1 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Vendor Advisories (1)

redhatCVE-2016-6305Moderate

openssl: SSL_peek() hang on empty record

Sep 22, 2016

References

kb.juniper.net / InfoCenter/index
bto.bluecoat.com / security-advisory/sa132
cert-portal.siemens.com / productcert/pdf/ssa-412672.pdf
github.com / openssl/openssl/issues/1563
ExploitIssue Tracking
git.openssl.org
security.gentoo.org / glsa/201612-16
openssl.org / news/secadv/20160922.txt
Vendor Advisory
tenable.com / security/tns-2016-16
tenable.com / security/tns-2016-20
tenable.com / security/tns-2016-21
www-01.ibm.com / support/docview.wss
oracle.com / technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2018-3678067.html
oracle.com / technetwork/security-advisory/cpujan2018-3236628.html
oracle.com / technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2017-3236622.html
oracle.com / technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2016-2881722.html
oracle.com / technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2017-3236626.html
securityfocus.com / bid/93149
securitytracker.com / id/1036879