CVE-2016-0921
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 · uneditedAvamar Data Store (ADS) and Avamar Virtual Edition (AVE) in EMC Avamar Server before 7.3.0-233 use weak permissions for unspecified directories, which allows local users to obtain root access by replacing a script with a Trojan horse program.
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 confidenceEMC Avamar Server versions before 7.3.0-233 contain weak file permissions on certain directories that allow local unprivileged users to replace scripts with malicious versions. By substituting a legitimate script with a Trojan horse program, a local attacker can escalate privileges to root and gain full system control.
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<= 7.3.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 installed EMC Avamar Server versionRun 'avamar version' or check /etc/avamar/avamar.ini for the version string, or use the Avamar Administration console to view the server versionAffected if Version is 7.3.0 or earlier (any build below 7.3.0-233)
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Confirm version falls within affected rangeCompare the installed version number to the vulnerable range: any version <= 7.3.0 is affected; version 7.3.0-233 and later are patchedAffected if Installed version is 7.3.0 or any earlier release
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Audit script directory permissionsExamine directory permissions on /usr/local/avamar/bin, /opt/avamar/bin, and similar script directories using 'ls -la' or icacls on Windows equivalents; verify that write access is restricted to root or administrator accounts onlyAffected if Non-root or non-administrator users have write permissions to script directories
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Check for unauthorized script modificationsReview integrity baseline for script files in Avamar bin directories; compare current file hashes against known-good snapshots; look for unexpected new files or modified timestampsAffected if Scripts have been modified without authorization or unexpected scripts exist in privileged directories
You are affected if your EMC Avamar Server version is 7.3.0 or earlier, or if unprivileged users can write to script directories used by privileged processes.
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 EMC Avamar Server to version 7.3.0-233 or later to obtain the vendor patch that corrects the weak permissions. Alternatively, if upgrading is not immediately feasible, audit and restrict write permissions on script directories to root-only and monitor for unauthorized script modifications.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-2016-0921 — 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-2016-0921 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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