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Netscaler Application Delivery Controller FirmwareOperating system · Citrix

CVE-2013-6941

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-03-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Unspecified vulnerability in Citrix NetScaler Application Delivery Controller (ADC) 9.3.x before 9.3-64.4, 10.0 before 10.0-77.5, and 10.1 before 10.1-118.7 allows users to "breakout" of the shell via unknown vectors.

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 confidence

Citrix NetScaler ADC contains an unspecified vulnerability allowing authenticated users to break out of the restricted shell environment and gain elevated access to the underlying system. The vulnerability affects versions 9.3.x before 9.3-64.4, 10.0 before 10.0-77.5, and 10.1 before 10.1-118.7.

MitigationUpgrade Citrix NetScaler ADC to version 9.3-64.4, 10.0-77.5, 10.1-118.7 or later. Apply network segmentation and least-privilege access controls to limit exposure to authenticated users until the upgrade is completed.

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
Netscaler Application Delivery Controller FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 9.3\(1\)= 9.3.e= 10.0= 10.1

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check NetScaler ADC firmware version
    Run the command 'show version' or 'nsversion' on the NetScaler command line, or check the version displayed in the web interface under System > Information > Version
    Affected if The installed version is 9.3.x before 9.3-64.4, or 10.0 before 10.0-77.5, or 10.1 before 10.1-118.7
  2. Verify exact build number
    Run 'show version' and note the full build number displayed (for example 9.3-64.4 or 10.0-77.5)
    Affected if The build number is lower than the fixed versions: 9.3-64.4, 10.0-77.5, or 10.1-118.7
  3. Identify if restricted shell access is granted to users
    Review user account configurations using 'show system user' command and check if any users are assigned to roles that provide shell access (such as nsroot or custom privileged accounts)
    Affected if Any authenticated user account with shell or privileged access exists on the system, since the vulnerability allows such users to escape the restricted shell

You are affected if your NetScaler ADC runs firmware version 9.3.x before 9.3-64.4, 10.0 before 10.0-77.5, or 10.1 before 10.1-118.7 AND you have any authenticated users with shell or elevated access privileges.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Citrix NetScaler ADC to version 9.3-64.4, 10.0-77.5, 10.1-118.7 or later. Apply network segmentation and least-privilege access controls to limit exposure to authenticated users until the upgrade is completed.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 9.3-64.4+ for 9.3.x, 10.0-77.5+ for 10.0, or 10.1-118.7+ for 10.1

  1. 1. Back up the current NetScaler ADC configuration using 'save ns config' command
  2. 2. Download the appropriate firmware build from Citrix support portal based on your current version: for 9.3.x use 9.3-64.4 or later, for 10.0 use 10.0-77.5 or later, for 10.1 use 10.1-118.7 or later
  3. 3. Upload the firmware file to the NetScaler using the web GUI (System > Firmware) or via SCP/SFTP
  4. 4. Install the firmware using 'install ns' command or through the web GUI
  5. 5. Reboot the NetScaler appliance after installation completes
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version with 'show version' command
  7. 7. Restore configuration if needed and verify all services are operational
Caveat Review Citrix release notes for any configuration changes required between versions; test in non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Netscaler Application Delivery Controller Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2013-6941 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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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