# CVE-2015-7974: Auth bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can impersonate NTP peers using arbitrary trusted keys due to missing symmetric key verification, bypassing authentication.

- **Severity:** High 7.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Jan 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2015-7974, GHSA-26v6-r4x8-vv44, UBUNTU-CVE-2015-7974

## What is CVE-2015-7974?

CVE-2015-7974 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 26 Jan 2016. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

NTP 4.x before 4.2.8p6 and 4.3.x before 4.3.90 do not verify peer associations of symmetric keys when authenticating packets, which might allow remote attackers to conduct impersonation attacks via an arbitrary trusted key, aka a "skeleton key."

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-7974?

It affects 6 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Netapp Clustered Data Ontap, Netapp Oncommand Balance, Ntp Ntp, Siemens Tim 4r-Ie Dnp3 Firmware, Siemens Tim 4r-Ie Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-7974?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2015-7974 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-7974 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2015-7974 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-7974 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 26 Jan 2016. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-7974 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-7974/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-7974/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-7974
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-7974
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-7974

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-7974/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.