CVE-2014-5160
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 · uneditedMultiple directory traversal vulnerabilities in crs.exe in the Cell Request Service in HP Data Protector allow remote attackers to create arbitrary files via an opcode-1091 request, or create or delete arbitrary files via an opcode-305 request. NOTE: the vendor reportedly asserts that this behavior is "by design.
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 confidenceDirectory traversal vulnerabilities in HP Data Protector's Cell Request Service (crs.exe) allow remote attackers to create arbitrary files via opcode-1091 requests and create or delete arbitrary files via opcode-305 requests, exploiting insufficient path validation in file operations.
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= 6.10= 6.11CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/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.
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Locate HP Data Protector installationSearch for HP Data Protector installation directory, commonly found in C:\Program Files\HP\Data Protector or C:\Program Files (x86)\HP\Data Protector. Confirm the presence of the Cell Request Service executable (crs.exe) in the bin or similar subdirectory.Affected if HP Data Protector with crs.exe is present on the system
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Determine installed versionIdentify the exact version of HP Data Protector by checking version information in the installation folder, registry, or using system inventory tools. The vulnerability affects only versions 6.10 and 6.11.Affected if Installed version is exactly 6.10 or 6.11
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Verify Cell Request Service is runningCheck if the Cell Request Service (crs.exe) is active. On Windows, use Services.msc to look for 'HP Data Protector Cell Request Service' or check running processes for crs.exe.Affected if Cell Request Service (crs.exe) is currently running
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Assess network accessibility of the serviceDetermine if the Cell Request Service port (default HP Data Protector port is 5555) is listening and accessible from network locations. Use netstat -an to check for listening ports and evaluate network ACLs.Affected if Service port is listening and accessible from untrusted network segments
The environment is affected if HP Data Protector versions 6.10 or 6.11 are installed with the Cell Request Service running and exposed to network access, allowing remote directory traversal exploitation.
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 dataGiven the vendor's assertion that this behavior is 'by design,' immediate mitigations include network segmentation to restrict access to the Cell Request Service, applying any available vendor patches, or disabling the service if not required for operations.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-5160 — 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-2014-5160 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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