CVE-2013-4673
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 management console on the Symantec Web Gateway (SWG) appliance before 5.1.1 does not properly implement RADIUS authentication, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by leveraging access to the login prompt.
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 Symantec Web Gateway management console before version 5.1.1 has a flaw in RADIUS authentication implementation that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by leveraging access to the login prompt. This suggests the RADIUS authentication mechanism can be bypassed or manipulated to inject and execute commands on the appliance.
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<= 5.1= 5.0= 5.0.1= 5.0.2= 5.0.3= 5.0.3.18all versionsall 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:A/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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.
-
Identify installed Symantec Web Gateway versionAccess the management console or check the system documentation to determine the exact version number of the Symantec Web Gateway softwareAffected if The installed version is 5.1 or lower, or specifically 5.0, 5.0.1, 5.0.2, 5.0.3, or 5.0.3.18, or if the version cannot be determined but the appliance model is 8450 or 8490
-
Verify RADIUS authentication is configuredLog into the management console and navigate to the authentication settings to determine if RADIUS is enabled as an authentication methodAffected if RADIUS authentication is enabled and configured on the appliance
-
Confirm network accessibility of the management consoleDetermine if the management console interface is exposed to untrusted networks by reviewing firewall rules and network configurationAffected if The management console login prompt is accessible from networks outside the trusted internal environment
-
Review RADIUS server configurationExamine the RADIUS server settings in the authentication configuration panel to verify the configured RADIUS server and shared secret settingsAffected if A RADIUS server is configured and the shared secret or server settings appear unusual or unauthorized
The environment is affected if the installed Symantec Web Gateway version is 5.1 or lower (including 5.0.x variants), or if the appliance is model 8450 or 8490, AND RADIUS authentication is enabled with the management console accessible to network attackers.
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 dataUpgrade to Symantec Web Gateway 5.1.1 or later to patch the vulnerable RADIUS authentication. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict network access to the management console via firewall rules or VPN, and disable RADIUS authentication if not required.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-4673 — 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-2013-4673 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