# CVE-2016-7959: Information disclosure in n/a

> Local attackers can extract pre-shared keys from TIA Portal project files via brute-force, exposing sensitive industrial control data.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Oct 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5crm-rrf8-p8c4

## What is CVE-2016-7959?

CVE-2016-7959 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 13 Oct 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Siemens SIMATIC STEP 7 (TIA Portal) before 14 improperly stores pre-shared key data in TIA project files, which makes it easier for local users to obtain sensitive information by leveraging access to a file and conducting a brute-force attack.

Weakness: CWE-254

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-7959?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Siemens Simatic Step 7.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-7959?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-7959 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-7959 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-7959 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2021-42029](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-42029/): Missing authorization in SIMATIC STEP 7 (TIA Portal) V15 (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2015-1601](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1601/): Other in n/a (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2015-1356](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1356/): Auth bypass in n/a (medium 4.4)
- [CVE-2022-46141](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-46141/): Information disclosure in SIMATIC STEP 7 (TIA Portal) (medium 4.2)
- [CVE-2016-7960](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7960/): Information disclosure in n/a (low 2.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-7959 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-7959 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 13 Oct 2016. 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-2016-7959 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-2016-7959/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7959/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-7959
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-7959
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-7959

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7959/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.