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Vsphere Data ProtectionApplication · VMware

CVE-2016-7456

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-12-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
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.

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

VMware vSphere Data Protection (VDP) versions 5.5.x through 6.1.x contains a hardcoded SSH private key with a publicly known password. Attackers with network access to the VDP appliance can authenticate via SSH using this compromised key and gain operating system-level access to the appliance.

MitigationReplace the exposed SSH private key with a new key using strong, unique passphrases, restrict SSH access to trusted networks, and apply available VMware patches for affected VDP versions.

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
Vsphere Data ProtectionApplication
Affected:= 5.5.1= 5.5.5= 5.5.6= 5.5.7= 5.5.8= 5.5.9= 5.5.10= 5.5.11= 5.8.0= 5.8.1= 5.8.2= 5.8.3

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify VDP version
    Run 'vmware -l' or check the VDP appliance management interface for the installed version number
    Affected if Version matches any of: 5.5.1, 5.5.5-5.5.11, 5.8.0-5.8.3
  2. Locate the hardcoded SSH private key
    Search for the SSH private key file in typical locations such as /root/.ssh/ or /home/avault/.ssh/ on the VDP appliance filesystem
    Affected if A private key file exists in SSH directories on the VDP appliance
  3. Verify the key matches the compromised key
    Compare the found private key fingerprint or content against the known compromised key for this CVE (publicly documented key)
    Affected if The key matches the publicly known hardcoded private key
  4. Confirm SSH service accessibility
    Check if TCP port 22 is open and reachable on the VDP appliance using 'nc -zv <VDP-IP> 22' or 'nmap -p22 <VDP-IP>'
    Affected if SSH port 22 is accessible from an untrusted network

The environment is affected if VDP version is within the listed affected versions AND the hardcoded SSH private key is present on the appliance and SSH is network-accessible.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Replace the exposed SSH private key with a new key using strong, unique passphrases, restrict SSH access to trusted networks, and apply available VMware patches for affected VDP versions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

VMware vSphere Data Protection 6.5 or later (note: VDP reached End of Availability; consider migrating to VMware vSphere Backup and Recovery or third-party solutions)

  1. Check VMware Security Advisory VMSA-2016-0018 for the specific patch applicable to your VDP version
  2. If running VDP 5.5.x, apply VMware patch VDP-550-20161101 or later security update
  3. If running VDP 6.0.x, apply VMware patch VDP-600-20161101 or later security update
  4. After patching, verify the vulnerable SSH key has been removed from /etc/ssh/ or similar locations
  5. Regenerate any SSH key pairs used by VDP with unique passphrases
  6. If SSH access is not required, disable the SSH service on the VDP appliance
  7. Restart the VDP services after applying the patch
  8. Verify the fix by attempting to authenticate with the previously known public key - authentication should fail
Caveat VDP is End of Availability; upgrade path may require migration to alternative solution; SSH-based workflows may need reconfiguration after key regeneration

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Vsphere Data Protection Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2016-7456 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