CVE-2016-2289
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 · uneditedDirectory traversal vulnerability in ICONICS WebHMI 9 and earlier allows remote attackers to read configuration files, and consequently discover password hashes, via unspecified 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 confidenceICONICS WebHMI versions 9 and earlier contain a directory traversal vulnerability that allows remote attackers to escape the intended file system boundaries and access configuration files outside the web root. By exploiting this flaw, attackers can read configuration files that store password hashes, enabling credential compromise.
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<= 9.0CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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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Confirm ICONICS WebHMI is installedCheck for the presence of ICONICS WebHMI in the system registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\ICONICS\WebHMI or look for the WebHMI installation directory (commonly in C:\Program Files\ICONICS\WebHMI or similar paths)Affected if The software is present on the system
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Identify the installed WebHMI versionLocate the version information in the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\ICONICS\WebHMI\Version or check the version property of the main executable (WebHMI.exe) in the installation folderAffected if The version number is 9.0 or lower
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Verify the web service is runningCheck if the ICONICS WebHMI web service is active by looking for IIS or the built-in web server process listening on typical HMI ports (usually port 80 or 8080), or by accessing the web interface via browserAffected if The web management interface is accessible over the network
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Test for directory traversal vulnerabilityAttempt to access known configuration file paths outside the web root using path traversal patterns such as ../../../windows/system32/config (or similar paths to configuration directories) via the web browser or curl command to the web serverAffected if HTTP requests with traversal sequences return configuration files that should not be accessible from the web root
A system is affected if ICONICS WebHMI version 9.0 or earlier is installed and its web interface is accessible, allowing an attacker to use directory traversal to reach sensitive configuration files containing password hashes.
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 ICONICS WebHMI to a version beyond 9 that addresses this vulnerability. Additionally, restrict network access to the HMI management interface and implement web application firewall rules to detect and block directory traversal patterns.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2289 — 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-2016-2289 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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