Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2016-4518 is a denial-of-service issue in OSIsoft PI AF Server versions before 2016 2.8.0. A remote user with valid authentication could send a message that causes a service outage. The main business risk is loss of availability for systems that depend on PI AF Server.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for operational environments where PI AF Server availability supports production, monitoring, or reporting workflows. The issue is not described as unauthenticated or actively exploited, but a service outage can still disrupt operations.
Technical view
The source bundle describes a remotely reachable, authenticated denial-of-service condition in OSIsoft PI AF Server before 2016 2.8.0. No CVSS vector, CWE, or detailed root cause is provided. The vulnerability impact is limited in the sources to service outage via a message.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in organizations still running OSIsoft PI AF Server before 2016 2.8.0, especially where many users or integrations can authenticate to the server.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not indicate CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The described attacker position is remote but authenticated, so valid credentials or trusted integration access appear required.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse: the bundle provides the affected product/version boundary and denial-of-service impact, but not CVSS, CWE, root cause, exploit maturity, or detailed remediation steps beyond the version threshold and referenced advisories.
Mitigation direction
- Identify all OSIsoft PI AF Server instances and their installed versions.
- Upgrade affected PI AF Server deployments to 2016 2.8.0 or later where applicable.
- Review OSIsoft alert AL00301 and CISA ICSA-16-166-02 for vendor-specific guidance.
- Restrict PI AF Server access to required users, services, and management networks.
- Monitor for unexpected PI AF Server outages until remediation is complete.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any PI AF Server version is earlier than 2016 2.8.0.
- Check authentication scope for users and integrations with PI AF Server access.
- Review service availability logs for unexplained PI AF Server outages.
- Verify vendor guidance has been applied to every affected instance.
- Document residual exposure for legacy systems that cannot be upgraded.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2016-4518 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://techsupport.osisoft.com/Troubleshooting/Alerts/AL00301CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-16-166-02CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.