CVE-2016-3650
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 · uneditedSymantec Endpoint Protection Manager (SEPM) 12.1 before RU6 MP5 allows remote authenticated users to discover credentials via a brute-force attack.
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 confidenceSymantec Endpoint Protection Manager versions prior to RU6 MP5 contain a vulnerability that allows remote authenticated users to perform brute-force attacks to discover credentials. The vulnerability exists in the SEPM authentication mechanism which does not adequately limit credential guessing attempts.
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<= 12.1.6CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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.
-
Confirm SEPM server component is installedVerify that Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager (SEPM) server is installed, not just the SEP client. Check for the SEPM management console service or the 'Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager' Windows service.Affected if Only SEPM server is affected; the SEP client alone is not vulnerable to this issue.
-
Identify SEPM version numberOpen the SEPM management console and navigate to Help > About, or check the Windows registry key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\SEPM\CurrentVersion. Record the version string.Affected if Version cannot be determined or is empty.
-
Compare against affected version rangeCompare your installed SEPM version to version 12.1.6 RU6 MP5. If the version is 12.1.6 or earlier (such as 12.1.5, 12.1.4, etc.) without the RU6 MP5 patch applied, the environment is within the affected range.Affected if Version is 12.1.6 or earlier, or the RU6 MP5 patch is not applied.
-
Verify SEPM web console is accessibleConfirm the SEPM web console login page is reachable at the configured port (default 8443) over HTTPS. Attempt to access the login URL to confirm the authentication mechanism is exposed.Affected if The SEPM authentication interface is accessible from the network.
You are affected if SEPM server version is 12.1.6 or earlier and the SEPM web console authentication interface is accessible without rate limiting or account lockout controls.
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 patch RU6 MP5 or later for SEPM 12.1. Additionally, implement compensating controls such as account lockout policies, IP-based rate limiting, and multi-factor authentication to mitigate credential brute-force attacks.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $4,304.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3650 — 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-2016-3650 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
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.
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