# CVE-2016-2217: Weak cryptography in n/a

> Remote attackers can obtain shared secrets due to weak Diffie-Hellman parameters in Socat's OpenSSL implementation.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Jan 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-2217, GHSA-x8h2-j222-xxr3, MGASA-2016-0053

## What is CVE-2016-2217?

CVE-2016-2217 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 30 Jan 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The OpenSSL address implementation in Socat 1.7.3.0 and 2.0.0-b8 does not use a prime number for the DH, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain the shared secret.

Weakness: CWE-320

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-2217?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Dest-Unreach Socat.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-2217?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-2217 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-2217 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2026-56123](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-56123/): socat 1.8.0.0 - 1.8.1.1 Heap Buffer Overflow via SOCKS5 Reply Parser (critical 9.2)
- [CVE-2015-1379](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1379/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2010-2799](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2799/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2012-0219](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-0219/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 6.2)
- [CVE-2013-3571](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3571/): Denial of service in n/a (low 2.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-2217 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-2217 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 30 Jan 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-2217 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2016-2217/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2217/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-2217
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-2217
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-2217

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2217/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.