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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2015-8139 Ntp CVE debrief

CVE-2015-8139 affects ntpq in NTP and allows a remote attacker to obtain origin timestamps and then impersonate peers through unspecified vectors. NVD rates the issue medium severity, with network access required but no privileges or user interaction, and the reported impact is integrity-related. Update affected NTP deployments to a fixed release and follow vendor package advisories for your platform.

Vendor
Ntp
Product
CVE-2015-8139
CVSS
MEDIUM 5.3
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-01-30
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-01-30
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Administrators and security teams responsible for NTP servers, clients, and package-managed time-synchronization deployments should prioritize this issue, especially where ntpq is reachable over the network or where NTP trust relationships matter operationally.

Technical summary

The NVD record describes a vulnerability in ntpq affecting NTP before 4.2.8p7, where a remote attacker can obtain origin timestamps and use them to impersonate peers via unspecified vectors. NVD assigns CVSS 3.0 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N and CWE-284. The supplied source data also includes vulnerable version criteria and multiple downstream advisories, indicating broad packaging impact across vendors.

Defensive priority

Medium. This is a remotely reachable, unauthenticated integrity issue in time synchronization tooling, so it warrants prompt patching even though confidentiality and availability are not directly impacted.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Confirm whether any hosts run NTP versions covered by the supplied vulnerable-version criteria and inventory both servers and clients.
  • Upgrade NTP to a fixed release at or above the vendor-remediated version referenced in the advisory trail; use your distribution or vendor package guidance where applicable.
  • Restrict network exposure to ntpq and other NTP management interfaces to trusted administrative networks where possible.
  • Review monitoring and configuration baselines for systems that depend on authenticated or trusted time sources, since peer impersonation can undermine integrity.
  • Track downstream advisories for your platform to verify that the packaged NTP build includes the relevant fix.

Evidence notes

This debrief is based only on the supplied NVD record and linked advisories. The source description states that ntpq in NTP before 4.2.8p7 can expose origin timestamps and enable peer impersonation via unspecified vectors. NVD also provides CVSS 3.0, CWE-284, and vulnerable-version criteria, while the vendor and downstream advisories show remediation guidance across multiple platforms. Timing context: the CVE record was published on 2017-01-30 and later modified on 2026-05-13; references in the source corpus include 2016 advisories.

Official resources

CVE record published on 2017-01-30. The supplied reference set includes upstream/vendor and downstream advisories from 2016, and the NVD record was later modified on 2026-05-13.