# CVE-2016-4484: Auth bypass in n/a

> Physically proximate attackers can gain shell access by repeatedly attempting invalid passwords during boot, bypassing authentication in the initrd script.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 23 Jan 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-4484, GHSA-gv5v-vgx2-hgvr, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-4484

## What is CVE-2016-4484?

CVE-2016-4484 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 23 Jan 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Debian initrd script for the cryptsetup package 2:1.7.3-2 and earlier allows physically proximate attackers to gain shell access via many log in attempts with an invalid password.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-4484?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cryptsetup Project Cryptsetup.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-4484?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-4484 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-4484 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2021-4122](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-4122/): Security feature bypass in cryptsetup (medium 4.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-4484 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-4484 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 23 Jan 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-4484 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-2016-4484/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4484/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4484
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4484
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-4484

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4484/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.