CVE-2005-0296
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedNOTE: this issue has been disputed by the vendor. The error module in Novell GroupWise WebAccess allows remote attackers who have not authenticated to read potentially sensitive information, such as the version, via an incorrect login and a modified (1) error or (2) modify parameter that returns template files or the "about" information page. NOTE: the vendor has disputed this issue
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceNovell GroupWise WebAccess contains an information disclosure vulnerability in its error module that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read sensitive information such as version details, template files, or the 'about' information page by providing incorrect login credentials and modifying error or modify parameters.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 6.0= 6.5= 6.0= 6.5CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm GroupWise WebAccess is exposedIdentify if the web server is serving GroupWise WebAccess URLs (typically under /gw*/ paths) by reviewing web server access logs or scanning for /gw* and /servlet/* endpointsAffected if GroupWise WebAccess is accessible from a network where untrusted users can reach it
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Check installed WebAccess versionLocate the GroupWise WebAccess installation directory and examine version files (such as version.txt, about.html, or the WAR/JAR manifest files) or query the application's /about endpointAffected if The installed version is 6.0 or 6.5 specifically
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Verify error module is enabledCheck that the error handling module in WebAccess is active by reviewing the web.xml deployment descriptor or the application's error-page configurationAffected if Custom error pages are configured and the error module handles exceptions
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Test information disclosure via error parametersSend a request to the WebAccess login page with incorrect credentials while adding or modifying the 'error' or 'modify' parameter (such as ?error=1 or ?modify=test) and observe if version details, template paths, or the about page are returned in the error responseAffected if The response contains sensitive information such as file paths, version strings, or template contents that should not be disclosed to unauthenticated users
A user is affected if GroupWise WebAccess versions 6.0 or 6.5 are running and the error module exposes sensitive information to unauthenticated users who manipulate error parameters.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataRestrict network access to GroupWise WebAccess to trusted internal networks and disable detailed error messages or sensitive information disclosure in the application's error handling.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-0296 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-0296 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data