CVE-2016-4326
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 · uneditedThe Chef Manage (formerly opscode-manage) add-on before 1.12.0 for Chef allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted serialized data in a cookie.
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 confidenceA deserialization vulnerability in Chef Manage (formerly opscode-manage) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending crafted serialized data in a cookie. The flaw exists in versions prior to 1.12.0 and enables complete system compromise through the web interface.
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<= 1.11.4CVSS 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.
-
Verify Chef Manage is installedCheck for the presence of the Chef Manage package or web application in your environment. This may be found via package manager (dpkg, rpm), in the /opt/ directory, or by checking for the opscode-manage or chef-manage application.Affected if Chef Manage is present on the system
-
Identify installed Chef Manage versionRun the package manager query command appropriate to your system (e.g., 'rpm -q opscode-manage' or 'dpkg -l opscode-manage') or check the version file in the Chef Manage installation directory if accessible.Affected if The returned version is 1.11.4 or earlier
-
Confirm web interface is enabledCheck if the Chef Manage web interface service is running and accessible. This can be verified by confirming the 'chef-manage' or 'opscode-manage' web service is in an active state and responding to HTTP/HTTPS requests.Affected if The Chef Manage web interface is currently active and reachable
-
Validate version against affected rangeCompare your installed Chef Manage version number to the affected range: any version <= 1.11.4 is vulnerable.Affected if Installed version is 1.11.4 or lower, meaning the deserialization flaw is present
A system is affected if Chef Manage version 1.11.4 or earlier is installed with the web interface enabled, as the deserialization vulnerability can be exploited through cookie data.
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 Chef Manage to version 1.12.0 or later to address the deserialization vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not possible, consider disabling the Chef Manage web interface or restricting network access to trusted sources.
Chef Manage 1.12.0 or later
- 1. Back up your current Chef Manage configuration and data
- 2. Upgrade Chef Manage to version 1.12.0 or later using your package manager or Chef server installation method
- 3. Restart the Chef Manage services to apply the update
- 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Chef Manage version and confirming the web interface is functional
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4326 — 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-2016-4326 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