dbcve.org
Yast2Operating system · Suse

CVE-2016-1601

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-04-26
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
yast2-users before 3.1.47, as used in SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 SP1, does not properly set empty password fields in /etc/shadow during an AutoYaST installation when the profile does not contain inst-sys users, which might allow attackers to have unspecified impact 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

The yast2-users package before version 3.1.47 fails to properly initialize empty password fields in /etc/shadow during AutoYaST automated installations when the profile does not define inst-sys users. This improper password field handling could leave the system in an insecure state with unspecified attack vectors.

MitigationUpgrade yast2-users to version 3.1.47 or later in SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 SP1. For systems that cannot be immediately patched, manually verify that /etc/shadow password fields are properly set after any AutoYaST installation without inst-sys users defined in the profile.

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
Yast2Operating system
Affected:all versions

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed yast2-users package version
    Run 'rpm -q yast2-users' or 'zypper info yast2-users' to retrieve the installed version number
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 3.1.47 (e.g., 3.1.46 or earlier)
  2. Determine if system was installed via AutoYaST
    Check for /root/autoinstall.xml or /autoinst.xml, or inspect /var/log/yast2/autoinst.log for installation records
    Affected if AutoYaST was used for installation and the AutoYaST profile file exists on the system
  3. Inspect AutoYaST profile for inst-sys users
    Examine the AutoYaST profile (usually in /root/autoinstall.xml) and look for an <inst-sys> section or user definitions within it
    Affected if The AutoYaST profile does NOT contain any user definitions under <inst-sys> or the <inst-sys> section is missing entirely
  4. Examine /etc/shadow for improperly initialized password fields
    Run 'cat /etc/shadow' and inspect the password field (second field) for each user account
    Affected if Any user account has an empty password field (the second field is blank or contains only '*') rather than a proper hash or '!' prefix indicating a locked account

A system is affected if it has yast2-users version below 3.1.47, was installed using AutoYaST without inst-sys users defined in the profile, and contains user accounts in /etc/shadow with improperly initialized password fields.

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 yast2-users to version 3.1.47 or later in SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 SP1. For systems that cannot be immediately patched, manually verify that /etc/shadow password fields are properly set after any AutoYaST installation without inst-sys users defined in the profile.

Recommended fix High confidence

yast2-users version 3.1.47 or later

  1. Identify the yast2-users package version currently installed (e.g., zypper info yast2-users or rpm -q yast2-users)
  2. Upgrade yast2-users to version 3.1.47 or later using the package manager (e.g., zypper update yast2-users or zypper in yast2-users>=3.1.47)
  3. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 3.1.47 (rpm -q yast2-users)
  4. For new AutoYaST installations, ensure the installation profile is reviewed to properly define user accounts if needed

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

Fix this in Yast2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,080
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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-2016-1601 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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