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Universal Cmbd FoundationApplication · Hp

CVE-2016-4368

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-06-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
HPE Universal CMDB 10.0 through 10.21, Universal CMDB Configuration Manager 10.0 through 10.21, and Universal Discovery 10.0 through 10.21 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted serialized Java object, related to the Apache Commons Collections (ACC) library.

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 confidence

This vulnerability is an insecure deserialization flaw in the Apache Commons Collections library used by HPE Universal CMDB products. Attackers can send a crafted serialized Java object containing a malicious gadget chain that executes arbitrary commands on the target system with the privileges of the running service.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches or upgrade to a fixed version of Universal CMDB. If patches are unavailable, consider network segmentation to restrict access to the affected services and disable the vulnerable library if possible.

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
Universal Cmbd FoundationApplication
Affected:= 10.0= 10.01= 10.10= 10.11= 10.20= 10.21
Universal Cmbd Configuration ManagerApplication
Affected:= 10.0= 10.01= 10.10= 10.11= 10.20= 10.21
Universal DiscoveryApplication
Affected:= 10.0= 10.01= 10.10= 10.11= 10.20= 10.21

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed HPE Universal CMDB product
    Check system for presence of HPE Universal CMDB components such as Foundation, Configuration Manager, or Discovery by reviewing installed software or running processes related to these products
    Affected if Any of the affected products (Foundation, Configuration Manager, or Discovery) are installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed Universal CMDB version
    Use the system's software inventory or run a version command for Universal CMDB to identify the exact version number
    Affected if The installed version matches 10.0, 10.01, 10.10, 10.11, 10.20, or 10.21 exactly
  3. Locate the Apache Commons Collections library
    Search for commons-collections JAR files in the Universal CMDB installation directory, typically under the application server or lib folders
    Affected if The vulnerable commons-collections library is present in the Universal CMDB installation path
  4. Verify the service is running and network-accessible
    Check if the Universal CMDB service is currently running and listening on network ports, as this determines if remote exploitation is possible
    Affected if The affected Universal CMDB service is running and accessible over the network

The environment is affected if any HPE Universal CMDB product (Foundation, Configuration Manager, or Discovery) is installed at versions 10.0, 10.01, 10.10, 10.11, 10.20, or 10.21, and the vulnerable Apache Commons Collections library is present.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches or upgrade to a fixed version of Universal CMDB. If patches are unavailable, consider network segmentation to restrict access to the affected services and disable the vulnerable library if possible.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to Universal CMDB/Configuration Manager/Discovery version 10.22 or later (the first version containing the fix for this CVE)

  1. Check the HPE support portal (h20566.www2.hpe.com) for the specific patch or hotfix for CVE-2016-4368 for your exact version
  2. If a direct patch is not available for your version, upgrade to a version beyond 10.21 where the vulnerability is patched
  3. After upgrading, verify that the Apache Commons Collections library has been updated to a non-vulnerable version
  4. Restart all affected services after applying the upgrade or patch
  5. Validate the fix by reviewing system logs for any unauthorized access attempts
Caveat Review HPE release notes for version 10.22+ to check for any configuration or compatibility changes that may affect your deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Universal Cmbd Foundation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,360
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-4368 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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