CVE-2009-3843
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 · uneditedHP Operations Manager 8.10 on Windows contains a "hidden account" in the XML file that specifies Tomcat users, which allows remote attackers to conduct unrestricted file upload attacks, and thereby execute arbitrary code, by using the org.apache.catalina.manager.HTMLManagerServlet class to make requests to manager/html/upload.
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 · high confidenceHP Operations Manager 8.10 contains a hardcoded hidden account in the Tomcat user configuration XML file. Attackers with these credentials can access the Tomcat Manager application's HTMLManagerServlet at /manager/html/upload, allowing unrestricted WAR file uploads that lead to arbitrary code execution.
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= 8.10CVSS 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
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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.
-
Check installed HP Operations Manager versionRun the version detection command for HP Operations Manager (typically 'opcversion' or check the installation directory for version files)Affected if The installed version is exactly 8.10
-
Locate Tomcat user configuration fileSearch for the tomcat-users.xml file within the HP Operations Manager installation directory, typically found in the Tomcat configuration folderAffected if The file exists and contains user definitions
-
Inspect for hidden or hardcoded accountsOpen the tomcat-users.xml file and examine all <user> entries, looking for accounts with unusual names, embedded credentials, or accounts not documented in your organization's documentationAffected if Unexpected or undocumented user accounts are present in the configuration
-
Check Tomcat Manager accessibilityAttempt to access the path /manager/html/upload on the Tomcat server (or verify via configuration that the Manager application is exposed)Affected if The Manager application HTML interface is accessible without proper network restrictions
-
Review Tomcat Manager role assignmentsExamine the tomcat-users.xml for users assigned the 'manager' or 'manager-gui' roles, which grant access to the HTML Manager interfaceAffected if Any user account has manager-level role assignments
A user is affected if HP Operations Manager version 8.10 is running with a hardcoded hidden account in the Tomcat user configuration that provides access to the Manager application.
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 dataRemove the hidden account from the Tomcat users XML configuration file and review all user accounts for legitimacy. Consider restricting or disabling the Tomcat Manager application if not required for operations.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-3843 — 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-2009-3843 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data