MEDIUM
CVE-2016-1549
CWE-19Published: January 6, 2017· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
6.5
CVSS v3.1
Official Description
A malicious authenticated peer can create arbitrarily-many ephemeral associations in order to win the clock selection algorithm in ntpd in NTP 4.2.8p4 and earlier and NTPsec 3e160db8dc248a0bcb053b56a80167dc742d2b74 and a5fb34b9cc89b92a8fef2f459004865c93bb7f92 and modify a victim's clock.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2016-1549 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.
Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
A successful exploit results in full integrity compromise (data manipulation), with a CVSS base score of 6.5.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityNone
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Affected Vendors & Products
ntp1 product(s)
ntp
Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries
Exploit & PoC Resources
NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.
Official Patches & Advisories
All References (18)
→
http://www.talosintelligence.com/reports/TALOS-2016-0083/Mitigation · Technical Description · Third Party Advisory
→
http://www.talosintelligence.com/reports/TALOS-2016-0083/Mitigation · Technical Description · Third Party Advisory
Quick Facts
CVE IDCVE-2016-1549
CVSS Score6.5 / 10
SeverityMEDIUM
WeaknessCWE-19
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedJan 6, 2017
Related CVEs (CWE-19)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2016-1549 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.