CVE-2006-0998
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 · uneditedThe SSL server implementation in NILE.NLM in Novell NetWare 6.5 and Novell Open Enterprise Server (OES) sometimes selects a weak cipher instead of an available stronger cipher, which makes it easier for remote attackers to sniff and decrypt an SSL protected session.
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 confidenceThe SSL server implementation in NILE.NLM (Novell NetWare 6.5 and OES) contains a cipher selection flaw where weak ciphers are sometimes chosen over stronger available ciphers during SSL handshake negotiation. This allows remote attackers to potentially sniff and decrypt SSL-protected sessions by exploiting the weaker cryptographic algorithm.
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 dataall versions= 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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Verify NILE.NLM is loadedAt the NetWare server console, type 'NLIST NLM NILE' or check the module list to confirm NILE.NLM is loaded and runningAffected if NILE.NLM is not loaded or the server does not run NetWare/OES, the system is not affected by this specific flaw
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Check NILE.NLM versionAt the server console, type 'NLIST NLM NILE' or 'MODULES NILE' to display the loaded module version informationAffected if The installed version is any version of NILE.NLM on NetWare 6.5 or OES, as all versions are affected according to the advisory
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Identify SSL-enabled servicesReview server configuration for services using SSL/TLS that rely on NILE.NLM, such as HTTP, LDAP, or other Novell eDirectory servicesAffected if SSL-enabled services are configured and using NILE.NLM for cryptography, the weak cipher selection could affect those connections
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Test SSL cipher negotiationFrom a remote client, connect to the server's SSL-enabled ports (e.g., HTTPS on 443, LDAPS on 636) using an SSL testing tool and observe which cipher suites are offered/accepted during handshakeAffected if Weak or export-grade ciphers (such as EXP-RC4-MD5, EXP-DES-CBC-SHA, or similar) are negotiated or appear in the supported cipher list, the server is vulnerable to this flaw
A system is affected if it runs NetWare 6.5 or OES with NILE.NLM loaded and SSL services accepting weak cipher suites during negotiation.
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 dataConfigure the SSL server to prioritize strong cipher suites and disable weak/export-grade ciphers. Apply any available Novell patches for NILE.NLM and verify cipher configuration using SSL testing tools.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-0998 — 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-2006-0998 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
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