SatelliteApplication · Redhat
CVE-2010-1171
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 · uneditedRed Hat Network (RHN) Satellite 5.3 and 5.4 exposes a dangerous, obsolete XML-RPC API, which allows remote authenticated users to access arbitrary files and cause a denial of service (failed yum operations) via vectors related to configuration and package group (comps.xml) files for channels.
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 confidenceRHN Satellite 5.3 and 5.4 exposes a dangerous, obsolete XML-RPC API that allows any authenticated remote user to perform path traversal attacks, reading arbitrary files from the server filesystem. The same vulnerability can be exploited to cause denial of service through failed yum operations by manipulating configuration and package group (comps.xml) files for channels.
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
SatelliteApplication
= 5.3= 5.4CVSS 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
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:P
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 RHN Satellite versionRun 'rhn-version' or check /etc/redhat-release for the installed RHN Satellite versionAffected if The installed version is exactly 5.3 or 5.4
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Confirm XML-RPC API is enabledCheck if the XML-RPC API service is running and accessible - typically on port 80/443 or review /etc/httpd/conf.d/satellite.rpmnew for XML-RPC endpoint configurationsAffected if The obsolete XML-RPC API endpoints are active and reachable on the network
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Inspect XML-RPC API authenticationReview the XML-RPC API authentication configuration to determine if any authenticated user can access the API methodsAffected if The API allows authentication but does not restrict which authenticated users can invoke file-related methods
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Check for path traversal in logsSearch server logs (especially /var/log/httpd/error_log and /var/log/rhn/rhn_server_xmlrpc.log) for patterns indicating path traversal attempts such as '../' sequences in API callsAffected if Logs show path traversal patterns like '..' in XML-RPC API requests or evidence of unauthorized file access
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Review channel comps.xml integrityCompare current comps.xml files in /var/www/html/rhn/channels/ against known-good backups or verify yum repository integrity for signs of tamperingAffected if Comps.xml files show unauthorized modifications or yum operations are failing due to corrupted channel configurations
A user is affected if they are running RHN Satellite version 5.3 or 5.4 with the XML-RPC API enabled, allowing any authenticated user to perform path traversal attacks or manipulate channel configurations.
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 dataDisable or remove the obsolete XML-RPC API endpoints in RHN Satellite, or apply vendor patches if available. Alternatively, upgrade to a supported version of RHN Satellite that does not include this dangerous API.
Fix this in Satellite
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-1171 — 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-2010-1171 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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