CVE-2016-2996
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 Security Privileged Identity Manager 2.0 before 2.0.2 FP8, when Virtual Appliance is used, allows remote authenticated users to append to arbitrary files 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 confidenceIBM Security Privileged Identity Manager Virtual Appliance versions prior to 2.0.2 FP8 contains a file write vulnerability allowing authenticated remote users to append data to arbitrary files on the system. This could enable privilege escalation or configuration tampering depending on which files can be targeted.
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= 2.0.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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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Identify installed versionAccess the IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager web interface and navigate to the About or Version section, or log into the appliance console and run the command to display the version information (typically 'show version' or similar appliance management command)Affected if The displayed version is 2.0.0, 2.0.1, or 2.0.2 (prior to FP8 patch level)
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Confirm patch levelIf version 2.0.2 is shown, check whether Fix Pack 8 (FP8) has been applied by reviewing the installed patches or the full version string in the About sectionAffected if The version shows 2.0.2 without FP8 applied, indicating the vulnerable version is still in use
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Verify remote access configurationCheck the appliance network settings and authentication configuration to determine if remote administrative access is enabled (look for settings related to remote administration, LDAP integration, or remote user authentication)Affected if Remote authenticated access is permitted, providing an attack vector for the vulnerability
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Identify file operation featuresReview the administrative interface for features that allow file upload, configuration import, or file manipulation by authenticated users (such as backup/restore, configuration templates, or script upload functions)Affected if Any feature allowing authenticated users to write or append to files is accessible
The environment is affected if running IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager version 2.0.0, 2.0.1, or 2.0.2 without FP8, and remote authenticated users can access file write capabilities.
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 IBM Security Privileged Identity Manager Virtual Appliance to version 2.0.2 FP8 or later. Restrict remote access to trusted authenticated users only until the patch is applied.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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 locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2996 — 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-2016-2996 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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