CVE-2016-4897
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 · uneditedMultiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in (1) filter/save_forward.cgi, (2) filter/save.cgi, (3) /man/search.cgi in Usermin before 1.690.
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 confidenceMultiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities exist in Usermin before version 1.690, affecting three CGI scripts: filter/save_forward.cgi, filter/save.cgi, and /man/search.cgi. The vulnerabilities allow attackers to inject malicious scripts through unsanitized user inputs, potentially compromising user sessions or stealing credentials.
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<= 1.680CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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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Confirm Usermin is installedLocate the Usermin installation directory or check for the presence of Usermin-related files. Common locations include /usr/local/usermin, /etc/usermin, or the Webmin installation directory. Look for the usermin version file or check the Webmin package manager.Affected if Usermin is not found on the system, this CVE does not apply.
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Determine the installed Usermin versionFind and read the Usermin version file. Typically this is a version file in the Usermin installation directory, or you can query the Webmin/Usermin web interface for its version information. Common paths include /usr/local/usermin/version or /etc/usermin/version.Affected if The installed version is 1.680 or lower (anything <= 1.680), indicating the system is running a vulnerable version.
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Identify if the affected CGI scripts are present and accessibleLocate the CGI scripts mentioned in the CVE: filter/save_forward.cgi, filter/save.cgi, and man/search.cgi. These are typically found within the Usermin CGI directory structure. Check the filesystem for these files in the usermin CGI directories.Affected if The vulnerable CGI scripts exist on the system and are accessible via the Usermin web interface.
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Verify the Usermin web interface is exposedCheck if the Usermin web service is running and accessible. This involves checking if the Usermin web server (typically on port 20000 or similar) is listening and responding. Review network configuration to determine if the interface is reachable.Affected if Usermin is running and its web interface is accessible over the network, making the XSS vulnerable scripts potentially exploitable.
A system is affected if it runs Usermin version 1.680 or lower, has the vulnerable CGI scripts present, and exposes the Usermin web interface to users or attackers.
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 the vendor patch (upgrade to Usermin 1.690 or later) which includes proper input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data in the affected CGI scripts.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4897 — 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-2016-4897 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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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
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