dbcve.org
ClearpassApplication · Arubanetworks

CVE-2016-4401

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-11-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.5.7 / 6.6.2 or later.
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
Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager before 6.5.7 and 6.6.x before 6.6.2 allows attackers to obtain database credentials.

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 confidence

Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager versions before 6.5.7 and 6.6.x before 6.6.2 contain a vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to obtain database credentials. This credential disclosure is a critical information leak that could enable full database compromise and subsequent lateral movement.

MitigationUpgrade Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager to version 6.5.7, 6.6.2, or later. Additionally, rotate all database credentials immediately as they may have been compromised.

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
ClearpassApplication
Affected:< 6.5.7>= 6.6.0, < 6.6.2

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:3.1/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 ClearPass Policy Manager version
    Log into the ClearPass admin web UI and navigate to Administration > About, or run 'show version' command via CLI
    Affected if Version shown is below 6.5.7, or between 6.6.0 and 6.6.1 (inclusive)
  2. Confirm the API or guest portal interface is enabled
    Check if the ClearPass API service or guest self-service portal is configured and accessible over the network
    Affected if The XML API endpoint at /tipsapi/tipsAction.do or the guest portal is publicly or internally accessible without additional authentication layers
  3. Verify network exposure of management interfaces
    Review firewall rules and network access controls to determine if ClearPass management or API ports (TCP 443, 8080) are exposed to untrusted networks
    Affected if Management or API interfaces are reachable from networks other than trusted admin subnets
  4. Review audit logs for unauthorized database queries
    Examine ClearPass system logs and database audit logs for unusual or unauthenticated queries to database configuration endpoints
    Affected if Logs show unexpected or anonymous access to database credential retrieval functions

You are affected if your ClearPass Policy Manager version is below 6.5.7 or falls between 6.6.0 and 6.6.1, and the API or guest portal interface is network-accessible.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.5.7 / 6.6.2 or later
Fixed in 6.5.76.6.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager to version 6.5.7, 6.6.2, or later. Additionally, rotate all database credentials immediately as they may have been compromised.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to ClearPass Policy Manager 6.5.7 or 6.6.2 (or later stable release)

  1. 1. Back up the current ClearPass Policy Manager configuration and database
  2. 2. Download the fixed version (6.5.7 or 6.6.2 or later) from the Aruba Networks support portal at www.arubanetworks.com
  3. 3. Review Aruba's upgrade documentation for ClearPass Policy Manager
  4. 4. Upload the upgrade package to the ClearPass server
  5. 5. Execute the upgrade following the standard ClearPass upgrade procedure
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade completed successfully and the version matches the expected fixed version
  7. 7. Confirm database credentials are no longer exposed and the vulnerability is remediated
Caveat Review Aruba release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes between your current version and the target version

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

Fix this in Clearpass Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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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-2016-4401 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