How severe is CVE-2016-2004?

CVE-2016-2004 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2016-2004?

Affected package information for CVE-2016-2004 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2016-2004?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2016-2004 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2016-2004 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 6 known exploit references for CVE-2016-2004, including 2 documented proof-of-concept exploits on Exploit-DB and 4 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2016-2004?

CVE-2016-2004 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 92.7%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2016-2004?

CVE-2016-2004 is classified as Missing Authentication (CWE-306). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2016-2004?

CVE-2016-2004 affects hp data protector. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2016-2004 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2016-2004 was published on April 21, 2016 and was last updated on May 6, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2016-2004

CRITICAL

HPE Data Protector before 7.03_108, 8.x before 8.15, and 9.x before 9.06 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors related to lack of authentication.…

Published

Apr 21, 2016

Updated

May 6, 2026

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

6 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

92.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

HPE Data Protector before 7.03_108, 8.x before 8.15, and 9.x before 9.06 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors related to lack of authentication. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2014-2623.

Affected Products

1 product · 3 configurations

Application

data protectorhp

≥ 9.0 && < 9.06

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-39874remotewindows✓ Verified

HP Data Protector A.09.00 - Encrypted Communications Arbitrary Command Execution (Metasploit)

by Ian Lovering · May 31, 2016

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-39858remotewindows✓ Verified

HP Data Protector A.09.00 - Arbitrary Command Execution

by Ian Lovering · May 26, 2016

Exploit-DB Source

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2016-2004 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2016-2004 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

9.8/10

CVSS v3 base score

Vector breakdown

AV:Attack Vector

Network

AC:Attack Complexity

Low

PR:Privileges Required

None

UI:User Interaction

None

S:Scope

Unchanged

C:Confidentiality

High

I:Integrity

High

A:Availability

High

Raw vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE Classification

CWE-306Missing Authentication

Weaponization

No known public exploit tooling found.

Timeline

Disclosed

Apr 21, 2016

First exploit

May 31, 2016

Last updated

May 6, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2016-2004

References

Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorykb.cert.org Advisorysecuritytracker.com Advisoryh20566.www2.hpe.com Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorykb.cert.org Advisorysecuritytracker.com Advisoryh20566.www2.hpe.com Exploit / PoCpacketstormsecurity.com Exploit / PoCexploit-db.com Exploit / PoCexploit-db.com Exploit / PoCpacketstormsecurity.com Exploit / PoCexploit-db.com Exploit / PoCexploit-db.com

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