CVE-2009-4188
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 Dashboard has a default password of j2deployer for the j2deployer account, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a session that uses the manager role to conduct unrestricted file upload attacks against the /manager servlet in the Tomcat servlet container. NOTE: this might overlap CVE-2009-3098.
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 Dashboard contains a hardcoded default password 'j2deployer' for the j2deployer account, which grants manager role privileges. Attackers can exploit this to authenticate to the Tomcat /manager servlet and perform unrestricted file uploads, achieving remote 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 dataall versionsCVSS 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.
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Verify HP Operations Dashboard installationCheck for HP Operations Dashboard installation by looking for its installation directory (commonly in Program Files/HP on Windows or /opt on Linux), or by searching for running processes named 'hp-ov-admind' or 'Operations Dashboard'. Also check Windows Services or init/systemd services for HP Operations Dashboard services.Affected if HP Operations Dashboard is found installed on the system
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Locate Tomcat configuration for j2deployer accountFind the Tomcat server.xml or tomcat-users.xml configuration file within the HP Operations Dashboard installation directory (typically under conf/ or similar). Look for a user entry with username 'j2deployer' and check if it has the 'manager' role assigned.Affected if The j2deployer user entry exists with manager role in Tomcat configuration files
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Test default password validityAttempt to authenticate to the Tomcat manager interface (typically at /manager/html) using the credentials j2deployer/j2deployer. This can be done via HTTP Basic Auth or by checking if the password hash in the configuration matches the default.Affected if The default password 'j2deployer' is still active and grants manager access
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Verify manager servlet accessibilityCheck network listeners and firewall rules to determine if the Tomcat manager interface is reachable remotely. Review server.xml for connector configurations that expose the manager application.Affected if The Tomcat manager interface is accessible from the network (not restricted to localhost)
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Inspect web application directories for unauthorized contentExamine the web application deployment directories (typically under webapps/ or ROOT/) for unexpected .jsp, .war, or .php files, especially those with suspicious names or recent creation dates.Affected if Unexpected web shells, .war files, or malicious scripts are found in the web application directories
The system is affected if HP Operations Dashboard is installed and the j2deployer account with default password and manager role is accessible, enabling remote attackers to deploy malicious web applications.
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 dataImmediately change the default j2deployer password to a strong, unique credential, restrict network access to the Tomcat manager interface, and audit the system for signs of compromise.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-4188 — 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-2009-4188 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
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