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Openvas AdministratorApplication · Openvas

CVE-2013-6766

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-05-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
OpenVAS Administrator 1.2 before 1.2.2 and 1.3 before 1.3.2 allows remote attackers to bypass the OAP authentication restrictions and execute OAP commands via a crafted OAP request for version information, which causes the state to be set to CLIENT_AUTHENTIC.

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 confidence

OpenVAS Administrator versions 1.2 before 1.2.2 and 1.3 before 1.3.2 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the OAP (OpenVAS Administrator Protocol). Attackers can send a crafted OAP request for version information that incorrectly sets the client state to CLIENT_AUTHENTIC, allowing execution of protected OAP commands without proper authentication.

MitigationUpgrade OpenVAS Administrator to version 1.2.2, 1.3.2, or later to obtain the patched authentication logic that properly validates authentication state before granting command access.

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
Openvas AdministratorApplication
Affected:= 1.2= 1.2.0= 1.2.1= 1.3= 1.3.0= 1.3.1

CVSS 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
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify OpenVAS Administrator is installed
    Check for the presence of the 'openvasad' binary or the OpenVAS Administrator service on the system. On Linux, look for /usr/sbin/openvasad or check for the service using 'systemctl list-units | grep openvas' or 'ps aux | grep openvasad'.
    Affected if OpenVAS Administrator is not installed on the system.
  2. Determine installed version of OpenVAS Administrator
    Run 'openvasad --version' or 'openvasad -v' to retrieve the exact version number. Alternatively, check the package manager (e.g., 'dpkg -l | grep openvas-administrator' on Debian-based systems or 'rpm -qa | grep openvas-administrator' on RHEL-based systems).
    Affected if The version is 1.2.0, 1.2.1, 1.3.0, or 1.3.1.
  3. Confirm OAP (OpenVAS Administrator Protocol) is accessible
    Check if port 9393 (default OAP port) is listening and accessible. Use 'netstat -tlnp | grep 9393' or 'ss -tlnp | grep 9393' to verify the service is bound to a network interface. Verify remote access is possible by checking the listen address in the configuration (typically /etc/openvas/openvasad.conf).
    Affected if OAP is enabled and bound to a network interface (especially 0.0.0.0), making it remotely accessible.
  4. Verify authentication state handling in OAP requests
    Send a crafted OAP request for version information (the <get_version> command) to the OAP service on port 9393 using a tool like 'omp' in OAP mode or netcat. Observe whether the client state incorrectly transitions to CLIENT_AUTHENTIC without valid credentials, allowing subsequent protected commands.
    Affected if The OAP service incorrectly grants authenticated status after an unauthenticated version query, enabling execution of protected commands.

A system is affected if OpenVAS Administrator version 1.2.0, 1.2.1, 1.3.0, or 1.3.1 is installed AND the OAP service on port 9393 is enabled and accessible, allowing unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication through crafted version requests.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade OpenVAS Administrator to version 1.2.2, 1.3.2, or later to obtain the patched authentication logic that properly validates authentication state before granting command access.

Fix this in Openvas Administrator Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-6766 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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