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NtpApplication

CVE-2015-8139

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-01-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.2.8 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
ntpq in NTP before 4.2.8p7 allows remote attackers to obtain origin timestamps and then impersonate peers via unspecified vectors.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The ntpq utility in NTP versions before 4.2.8p7 contains an information disclosure vulnerability that allows remote attackers to obtain origin timestamps. These timestamps can then be exploited to impersonate NTP peers, effectively bypassing the NTP authentication mechanism.

MitigationUpgrade NTP to version 4.2.8p7 or later to patch the ntpq vulnerability and prevent timestamp disclosure and peer impersonation attacks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
NtpApplication
Affected:<= 4.2.8

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if NTP is installed
    Run `which ntpd` or `which ntpq` to verify NTP binaries exist on the system
    Affected if NTP binaries are not found, meaning the system is not running NTP and is not affected
  2. Determine NTP daemon version
    Run `ntpd --version` or check the installed package version via package manager (e.g., `dpkg -l | grep ntp` or `rpm -q ntp`)
    Affected if The installed version is 4.2.8 or earlier (prior to 4.2.8p7)
  3. Verify ntpq utility presence
    Run `which ntpq` to confirm the ntpq utility is installed on the system
    Affected if ntpq is present and the NTP version is 4.2.8 or earlier
  4. Confirm ntpq is in use
    Check if ntpq is being executed or referenced in scripts, cron jobs, or monitoring configurations
    Affected if ntpq is actively used and the NTP version is 4.2.8 or earlier, making the information disclosure vulnerability applicable

A system is affected if it runs NTP version 4.2.8 or earlier with the ntpq utility present and in use, allowing origin timestamp disclosure that can enable NTP peer impersonation attacks.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.2.8
Interim mitigation

Upgrade NTP to version 4.2.8p7 or later to patch the ntpq vulnerability and prevent timestamp disclosure and peer impersonation attacks.

Fix this in Ntp Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-8139 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data