CVE-2016-2944
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 BigFix Remote Control before 9.1.3 does not properly restrict failed login attempts, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain access via a brute-force approach.
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 BigFix Remote Control versions prior to 9.1.3 fail to implement proper restrictions on failed login attempts, allowing remote attackers to repeatedly guess credentials without account lockout or rate limiting, potentially leading to unauthorized administrative access.
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<= 9.1.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify IBM BigFix Remote Control installationLocate the installed IBM BigFix Remote Control software on the system and retrieve its version number, typically found in the application properties, system registry, or software inventoryAffected if The installed version cannot be determined or is not visible in standard locations
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Compare version to affected rangeDetermine the exact version number of the installed IBM BigFix Remote Control and compare it against the affected range: any version 9.1.2 or earlierAffected if The installed version is 9.1.2 or any earlier version (for example, 9.1.1, 9.1.0, etc.)
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Verify login attempt controls existExamine the application's security or authentication configuration settings for any implemented account lockout policies, login attempt limits, or rate limiting mechanismsAffected if No account lockout policy, login attempt restrictions, or rate limiting can be found in the security configuration
The environment is affected if IBM BigFix Remote Control version 9.1.2 or earlier is installed and no login attempt restrictions or account lockout protections are configured.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to IBM BigFix Remote Control 9.1.3 or later, which implements proper failed login attempt restrictions. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider network-level rate limiting or VPN access restrictions to mitigate brute-force attacks.
9.1.3
- 1. Back up your current IBM BigFix Remote Control configuration and database
- 2. Download IBM BigFix Remote Control version 9.1.3 or later from IBM Fix Central (www-01.ibm.com)
- 3. Stop the IBM BigFix Remote Control services
- 4. Install the updated version following IBM's standard upgrade procedures
- 5. Verify the installation completed successfully
- 6. Restart the IBM BigFix Remote Control services
- 7. Confirm that failed login attempt limiting is now enforced
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2944 — 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-2016-2944 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data