Analyst readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2016-6415 lets unauthenticated remote attackers read sensitive memory from affected Cisco devices during IKEv1 security association negotiation. For executives, the business risk is exposure of confidential device memory on perimeter network infrastructure, with CISA KEV indicating known exploitation.
Executive priority
Prioritize within the active vulnerability remediation queue, especially for perimeter and VPN infrastructure. Known exploitation plus high confidentiality impact makes this more urgent than a routine legacy network bug, even though the CVE is older.
Technical view
The issue is an information disclosure flaw in server-side IKEv1 implementations across listed Cisco IOS, IOS XE, IOS XR, and PIX versions. A network attacker can send an SA negotiation request and obtain sensitive information from device memory. The CVSS v3.1 score is 7.5: network reachable, low complexity, no privileges, confidentiality impact high.
Likely exposure
Organizations are most exposed where affected Cisco routers, security appliances, or VPN/IKE services are reachable from untrusted networks. The bundle names Cisco IOS 12.2-12.4, 15.0-15.6, IOS XE through 3.18S, IOS XR 4.3.x and 5.0-5.2.x, and PIX before 7.0.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV status supports known exploitation, but the bundle does not provide campaign details, exploit volume, or target sectors. Treat externally reachable IKEv1 on affected Cisco platforms as a high-priority validation and remediation item.
Researcher notes
The source bundle’s structured affected field is n/a, but the CVE description names Cisco product families and versions. The bundle does not include fix version details or concrete mitigations, so remediation should be validated against Cisco’s advisory.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Cisco devices and identify IKEv1-enabled services exposed to untrusted networks.
- Review Cisco advisory cisco-sa-20160916-ikev1 for fixed releases and supported workarounds.
- Prioritize remediation for internet-facing VPN, router, and firewall infrastructure.
- Apply vendor-supported software updates or mitigations after change testing.
- Restrict IKEv1 reachability to trusted peers where business requirements allow.
Validation and detection
- Check asset inventory for the Cisco versions named in the CVE description.
- Confirm whether IKEv1 is enabled on affected devices.
- Identify interfaces where IKEv1 is reachable from the internet or partner networks.
- Review logs and telemetry for suspicious IKE negotiation activity.
- Verify remediation status against Cisco advisory guidance, not only package versions.
Public sources used
Based on public source material and reviewed before publication.
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.
CWE-200: Information exposure and cloud metadata lookup
Information exposure and SSRF weaknesses can make discovery, cloud metadata, and credential material review relevant. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2016-6415 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 1036841CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_SECTRACK
- 20160916 IKEv1 Information Disclosure Vulnerability in Multiple Cisco ProductsCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_CISCO
- 93003CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_BID
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2016-6415CVE reference · government-resource
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.
Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.