dbcve.org
Vcenter ServerApplication · VMware

CVE-2016-2076

HIGH · 7.6 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-04-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.0 or later.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Client Integration Plugin (CIP) in VMware vCenter Server 5.5 U3a, U3b, and U3c and 6.0 before U2; vCloud Director 5.5.5; and vRealize Automation Identity Appliance 6.2.4 before 6.2.4.1 mishandles session content, which allows remote attackers to hijack sessions via a crafted web site.

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 confidence

The Client Integration Plugin (CIP) in multiple VMware products (vCenter Server, vCloud Director, vRealize Automation Identity Appliance) incorrectly handles session content, allowing remote attackers to hijack user sessions by tricking them into visiting a crafted malicious website.

MitigationApply VMware security patches: upgrade vCenter Server to U2 or later, vCloud Director to 5.5.5+ patch, and vRealize Automation Identity Appliance to 6.2.4.1 or later. Consider network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted networks.

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
Vcenter ServerApplication
Affected:<= 6.0= 5.5
Vcloud Automation Identity ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 6.2.4
Vcloud DirectorApplication
Affected:= 5.5.5

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L

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. Identify installed VMware product
    Determine which VMware product is running in your environment: vCenter Server, vCloud Director, or vCloud Automation Identity Appliance. Check product logs, web interfaces, or system documentation.
    Affected if Any of the three affected products are in use
  2. Check vCenter Server version
    Log into vCenter Server web client, go to Administration > System Configuration > Nodes, or check the About page. Alternatively, run: vmware -v from the command line if you have shell access.
    Affected if Version is 5.5 (any build) or 6.0 or earlier (any build)
  3. Check vCloud Director version
    Log into vCloud Director admin portal, click the user menu (top right), select About, or check the version from the provider dashboard.
    Affected if Version is exactly 5.5.5
  4. Check vCloud Automation Identity Appliance version
    Access the Identity Appliance admin console or check the appliance version via management interface or system logs.
    Affected if Version is exactly 6.2.4
  5. Verify Client Integration Plugin is in use
    The CIP is a browser plugin used for file transfers and client integration. Check if users have the plugin installed in their browsers (Chrome, Firefox, IE) by inspecting browser extensions or checking for the CIP installer on systems that have connected to the VMware web client.
    Affected if The Client Integration Plugin browser extension is installed and enabled for user sessions

User is affected if they run any of the specified product versions AND have the Client Integration Plugin enabled, as the vulnerability allows session hijacking through the plugin when users visit malicious websites.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 6.0
Interim mitigation

Apply VMware security patches: upgrade vCenter Server to U2 or later, vCloud Director to 5.5.5+ patch, and vRealize Automation Identity Appliance to 6.2.4.1 or later. Consider network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted networks.

Fix this in Vcenter Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2076 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2016-2076 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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