Websafe Alert ServerApplication · F5
CVE-2016-5235
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 · uneditedA Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in versions of F5 WebSafe Dashboard 3.9.x and earlier, aka F5 WebSafe Alert Server, allows an unauthenticated user to inject HTML via a crafted alert.
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 confidenceAn unauthenticated Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in F5 WebSafe Dashboard 3.9.x and earlier (aka F5 WebSafe Alert Server) allows attackers to inject malicious HTML/JavaScript through crafted alert messages. The alert input is not properly sanitized before being rendered in the dashboard 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
Websafe Alert ServerApplication
< 4.0.0CVSS 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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Identify F5 WebSafe Alert Server installationCheck for F5 WebSafe components on the system. Common locations: /opt/f5/websafe, /usr/local/websafe, or check running services for 'websafe' or 'radar' processes. Use commands like 'ps aux | grep -i websafe' or 'ls -la /opt/f5/' if F5 software is stored in standard locations.Affected if F5 WebSafe Alert Server is installed and running on the system
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Determine installed version of F5 WebSafe DashboardCheck the version of the installed F5 WebSafe component. Common methods: look for version files (VERSION, version.txt) in the installation directory, check RPM/DEB package info with 'rpm -qa | grep websafe' or 'dpkg -l | grep websafe', or examine the dashboard's about/help page if accessible.Affected if The installed version is 3.9.x or earlier, or any version less than 4.0.0
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Verify dashboard interface accessibilityConfirm the F5 WebSafe Dashboard web interface is accessible. Check if port 8080, 8443, or the configured dashboard port is open and responding. Use 'netstat -tlnp | grep -E "(8080|8443)"' or 'curl -k https://localhost:<port>/' to test connectivity.Affected if The dashboard interface is exposed and reachable (even on localhost)
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Check if alert input functionality is presentAccess the F5 WebSafe Dashboard and locate the alert input feature. This is typically found in the main dashboard view where alert messages are displayed or configured. The vulnerability exists in how alert messages are rendered, so the alert display component must be present.Affected if The dashboard's alert display/management interface is present and functional
A system is affected if F5 WebSafe Alert Server is installed with a version lower than 4.0.0 and the dashboard interface with alert display functionality is accessible.
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 data4.0.0
Upgrade F5 WebSafe Dashboard to a version beyond 3.9.x that includes the security patch, or implement proper input validation and output encoding on all alert fields before rendering.
Fix this in Websafe Alert Server
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 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 $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5235 — 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-2016-5235 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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- 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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