CVE-2016-5709

SolarWinds Virtualization Manager 6.3.1 and earlier uses weak encryption to store passwords in /etc/shadow, which allows local users with superuser privileges to obtain user passwords via a brute force attack.

Published: 2016-06-24 Last update: 2026-05-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2016-5709 is rated Low Risk (35.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.25%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-5709

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-02-20 0.14% 0.25% +0.11%
2 2025-03-30 0.27% 0.14% -0.13%
3 2025-03-29 0.27%

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-5709

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.7 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.0 3.6 [email protected]
1.9 2.0 LOW
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
3.4 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-5709

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-5709

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
solarwinds virtualization_manager <= 6.3.1 cpe:2.3:a:solarwinds:virtualization_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-5709

cvelogic Threat Intelligence