# CVE-2016-7431: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass NTP origin timestamp protection by sending a zero timestamp, undermining authentication mechanisms.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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:** 13 Jan 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-7431, GHSA-27gj-3475-hjqq

## What is CVE-2016-7431?

CVE-2016-7431 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Ntp Ntp, published on 13 Jan 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

NTP before 4.2.8p9 allows remote attackers to bypass the origin timestamp protection mechanism via an origin timestamp of zero.  NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of a CVE-2015-8138 regression.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-7431?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ntp Ntp.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-7431?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-7431 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-7431 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ntp Ntp

- [CVE-2018-12327](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12327/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-6460](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6460/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-11331](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11331/): Other in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2017-6451](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6451/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-6452](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-6452/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-7431 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-7431 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Ntp Ntp, published on 13 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-2016-7431 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Ntp Ntp. 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-2016-7431/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7431/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-7431
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-7431
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-7431

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7431/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.