CVE-2016-6298

The _Rsa15 class in the RSA 1.5 algorithm implementation in jwa.py in jwcrypto before 0.3.2 lacks the Random Filling protection mechanism, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain cleartext data via a Million Message Attack (MMA).

Published: 2016-09-01 Last update: 2026-05-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2016-6298 is rated Moderate Risk (41.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.45%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

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-2016-6298

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 2025-03-30 1.26% 0.45% -0.81%
2 2025-03-29 0.45% 1.26% +0.81%
3 2025-03-17 0.45%

Full EPSS history (5 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-6298

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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.
1.6 3.6 [email protected]
4.3 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
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.
8.6 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-6298

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2016-6298

GHSA-wg33-x934-3ghh · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: pip — jwcrypto lacks the Random Filling protection mechanism

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-6298

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2016-6298 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (python-jwcrypto), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2016-6298
ubuntu medium CVE-2016-6298 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (python-jwcrypto), 23 status rows across 23 suites (artful, bionic, cosmic, disco, eoan, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, precise, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial, yakkety, zesty): not-affected 16, ignored 3, DNE 2, needed 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-6298

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-6298

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
latchset jwcrypto < 0.3.2 cpe:2.3:a:latchset:jwcrypto:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-6298

cvelogic Threat Intelligence