Is CVE-2016-6415 actively exploited?

Yes. Previdian tracks CVE-2016-6415 as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.

What exploitation activity has Previdian observed?

Previdian has not yet recorded sensor-observed exploitation attempts for CVE-2016-6415. Our sensors continue to monitor for activity targeting this CVE.

Which versions are affected?

Version-level data is not available; Previdian tracks Cisco IOS and 3 other products.

Yes. CVE-2016-6415 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2016-6415

IOS

Cisco / IOS

Watch CVE-2016-6415 Browse KEV feed

Severity: CVSS 7.5 · High
Confidence: Confirmed
Exploit status: Exploited in the wild
EPSS: 87.7%
First observed: —
Last observed: —

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2016-6415 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Cisco IOS and 3 other products. The server IKEv1 implementation in Cisco IOS 12.2 through 12.4 and 15.0 through 15.6, IOS XE through 3.18S, IOS XR 4.3.x and...

Is it exploited?

Yes. Previdian tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed. Listed in CISA KEV.

Who is affected?

Cisco / IOS.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

IOS

The server IKEv1 implementation in Cisco IOS 12.2 through 12.4 and 15.0 through 15.6, IOS XE through 3.18S, IOS XR 4.3.x and 5.0.x through 5.2.x, and PIX before 7.0 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from device memory via a Security Association (SA) negotiation request, aka Bug IDs CSCvb29204 and CSCvb36055 or BENIGNCERTAIN.

View vendor advisory

Published: 19 Sep 2016
Exploitation Reported: 19 May 2023
Attack vector: Remote
Complexity: Low
Privileges: None
User interaction: None

CVE References

CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6415
20160916 IKEv1 Information Disclosure Vulnerability in Multiple Cisco Products tools.cisco.com · Vendor Advisory http://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/...
1036841 securitytracker.com · VDB Entry http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036841
93003 securityfocus.com · VDB Entry http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/93003

Exploitation evidence

Why Previdian marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

CISA

Recorded 19 May 2023

A trusted third party reported exploitation.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access

Source	Added
CISA First	2023-05-19 00:00 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
User-Agents
Callback hosts: 0; 0; 0

Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.

Scanner coverage

Nessus template detected 02 Jun 2025.

View Nessus template

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner	Reference	Detected
Nessus	https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/501829	02 Jun 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

7.5 High

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS

87.7%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor CWE-200

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 7.5 High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS v2.0 5.0 Medium

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

02 Jun 2025
09:26 UTC

Nessus plugin available

Scanner coverage available
19 May 2023
00:00 UTC

Added to CISA KEV

Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
19 Sep 2016
01:00 UTC

CVE published

Vulnerability disclosed publicly
26 Jul 2016
00:00 UTC

CVE ID reserved

Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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Evidence confidence and provenance
First-party sensor telemetry
PoC and scanner references
Affected versions and enrichment
Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2016-6415

Sample API response

{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2016-6415",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 7.5,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.87687,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}