CVE-2016-0338
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 · uneditedIBM Security Identity Manager (ISIM) Virtual Appliance 7.0.0.0 through 7.0.1.1 before 7.0.1-ISS-SIM-FP0003 allows local users to discover cleartext passwords by (1) reading a configuration file or (2) examining a process.
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 confidenceIBM Security Identity Manager Virtual Appliance versions 7.0.0.0 through 7.0.1.1 stores or displays passwords in cleartext, allowing local low-privileged users to obtain credentials by reading configuration files or examining running process environments. This is a local credential disclosure vulnerability with high confidentiality impact.
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= 7.0.0.0= 7.0.0.1= 7.0.0.2= 7.0.0.3= 7.0.1.0= 7.0.1.1CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 IBM Security Identity Manager Adapter installationLocate and inspect the IBM Security Identity Manager Adapter installation directory or use system inventory tools to confirm presence of the productAffected if The adapter software is present on the system
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Determine installed version of the adapterUse product-specific commands, version files, or system package information to retrieve the exact version numberAffected if The installed version is 7.0.0.0, 7.0.0.1, 7.0.0.2, 7.0.0.3, 7.0.1.0, or 7.0.1.1
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Inspect configuration files for cleartext passwordsExamine configuration directories and files used by the IBM Security Identity Manager Adapter, looking for password fields stored in plaintext rather than encrypted or hashedAffected if Configuration files contain passwords stored in cleartext
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Examine running process environmentsReview environment variables of running IBM Security Identity Manager processes using process inspection tools, looking for credentials passed as arguments or stored in environment variablesAffected if Process environments contain exposed credentials
A user is affected if the IBM Security Identity Manager Adapter version is 7.0.0.0 through 7.0.1.1 and cleartext passwords are found in configuration files or process environments
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 IBM Security Identity Manager 7.0.1-ISS-SIM-FP0003 or later. As a temporary measure, restrict local user access to system files and monitor for unauthorized access to configuration directories.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-0338 — 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-2016-0338 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data