CVE-2016-5686
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 · uneditedJohnson & Johnson Animas OneTouch Ping devices mishandle acknowledgements, which makes it easier for remote attackers to bypass authentication via a custom communication protocol.
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 · moderate confidenceThe Animas OneTouch Ping insulin pump device contains a flaw in its custom communication protocol where acknowledgement messages are improperly handled, allowing remote attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability stems from the device's failure to properly validate acknowledgement signals, enabling an attacker to craft malicious packets that circumvent the authentication layer.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Animas OneTouch Ping pump in your environmentInventory medical devices and locate any Animas OneTouch Ping insulin pumps. Check device labels, procurement records, or physical inspection of the device for the OneTouch Ping model marking.Affected if The device is an Animas OneTouch Ping insulin pump, as all firmware versions are affected.
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Verify firmware versionAccess the pump's settings menu via the device interface and navigate to the firmware or software information screen. Record the displayed firmware version number.Affected if Any firmware version is present, as the advisory states all versions are affected.
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Confirm remote communication feature statusCheck the pump settings for the remote control or telemetry feature (often labeled as 'Remote' or 'Pedal' in the device menu). Determine if this feature is turned ON or paired with any remote devices.Affected if The remote communication feature is enabled or paired, as the vulnerability exploits the custom protocol used for remote communication.
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Assess network exposureDetermine if the pump or its communication hub is connected to any network beyond the patient's personal devices. Check if the pump's communication occurs over Bluetooth, RF, or any networked endpoint accessible from outside the patient environment.Affected if The device communication can be reached from networks other than the patient's direct personal area network, enabling remote exploitation.
You are affected if you have an Animas OneTouch Ping insulin pump with remote communication enabled and any potential external network accessibility, given that all firmware versions contain the authentication bypass flaw.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataImplement network segmentation to isolate medical devices from untrusted networks, contact Johnson & Johnson for available firmware patches, and follow FDA medical device cybersecurity guidelines. Given the CVSS 9.8 critical rating, prioritize remediation immediately.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5686 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-5686 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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