CVE-2016-2988
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 Tivoli Storage Manger for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware (aka Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments) 6.4.x before 6.4.3.4 and 7.1.x before 7.1.6 allows remote authenticated users to bypass a TSM credential requirement and obtain administrative access by leveraging multiple simultaneous logins.
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 Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments (Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments) versions 6.4.x before 6.4.3.4 and 7.1.x before 7.1.6 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability where remote authenticated users can bypass TSM credential requirements and obtain administrative privileges by leveraging multiple simultaneous login sessions.
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= 6.4= 7.1CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 product and versionLocate the IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments or Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments installation and determine the exact version number. This is typically found in the product's about or version information panel, or via command line query if available.Affected if The installed version is 6.4.x before 6.4.3.4, or 7.1.x before 7.1.6
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Verify remote administrative interface exposureDetermine if the TSM administrative interface (typically port 1500 or similar) is accessible from network locations. Check firewall rules, network segmentation, or access control lists governing the management port.Affected if The remote administrative interface is exposed to untrusted networks or users
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Check for multiple session configurationReview the TSM server configuration for settings related to simultaneous client sessions or concurrent authentication sessions. This may be in thedsm.opt file, server options file, or administrative console settings.Affected if Multiple simultaneous login sessions are permitted by the server configuration
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Review active administrative sessionsUse TSM administrative commands (such as QUERY SESSION or similar) to examine current authenticated sessions and check for anomalous concurrent administrative sessions.Affected if Multiple administrative sessions from the same or different authenticated users are active simultaneously
The environment is affected if IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments or Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments is installed at version 6.4.x before 6.4.3.4 or 7.1.x before 7.1.6, and the remote administrative interface is accessible.
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 dataApply vendor-supplied patches (6.4.3.4 for 6.4.x or 7.1.6 for 7.1.x) to remediate this authentication bypass. Restrict network access to the management interface to trusted users until patching is complete.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2988 — 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-2016-2988 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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