CVE-2014-9248
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 · uneditedZenoss Core through 5 Beta 3 does not require complex passwords, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain access via a brute-force attack, aka ZEN-15406.
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 confidenceZenoss Core through version 5 Beta 3 does not enforce password complexity requirements, allowing weak passwords that are vulnerable to brute-force attacks. This is a design flaw in the application's password policy enforcement mechanism.
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<= 5.0.0= 2.4.0= 2.4.5= 2.5.0= 2.5.1= 2.5.2= 3.0.0= 3.0.1= 3.0.2= 3.0.3= 3.1.0= 3.2.0CVSS 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
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
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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Identify Zenoss Core versionRun 'zenoss --version' or check the installed package version via the package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q zenoss-core' or 'dpkg -l | grep zenoss')Affected if The version returned is 5.0.0 or earlier, or matches any of these: 2.4.0, 2.4.5, 2.5.0, 2.5.1, 2.5.2, 3.0.0, 3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.0.3, 3.1.0, or 3.2.0
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Locate password policy configurationSearch for password-related configuration files in the Zenoss etc directory (typically /opt/zenoss/etc or similar) for files containing 'password', 'policy', or 'complexity'Affected if Password policy configuration files exist but password complexity enforcement is disabled, not set, or ineffective due to the design flaw
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Test password complexity enforcementAttempt to create or modify a user account with a weak password (e.g., 'password123' or 'admin') using the Zenoss web interface or APIAffected if Weak passwords are accepted without rejection, indicating complexity requirements are not being enforced
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Review authentication logsCheck Zenoss event logs or system authentication logs for brute-force attack indicators and verify if account lockout or password complexity would mitigate such attemptsAffected if Brute-force attempts are possible because weak passwords can be used successfully due to missing complexity enforcement
A user is affected if their Zenoss Core installation matches any of the listed affected versions and weak passwords can be set or used without resistance, indicating the password complexity enforcement mechanism is not functioning.
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 dataEnable and enforce strong password complexity policies including minimum length requirements, character variety (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, special characters), and implement account lockout thresholds to mitigate brute-force attempts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-9248 — 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-2014-9248 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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