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Access ManagerApplication · Netiq

CVE-2016-5749

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-03-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
NetIQ Access Manager 4.1 before 4.1.2 HF 1 and 4.2 before 4.2.2 was parsing incoming SAML requests with external entity resolution enabled, which could lead to local file disclosure via an XML External Entity (XXE) attack.

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

NetIQ Access Manager versions 4.1 before 4.1.2 HF 1 and 4.2 before 4.2.2 contain an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in the SAML request parser. The parser has external entity resolution enabled, allowing authenticated or unauthenticated attackers to craft malicious SAML XML requests that can read arbitrary local files from the server file system.

MitigationUpgrade to NetIQ Access Manager 4.1.2 HF 1 or 4.2.2 or later, which disable external entity resolution in the XML parser.

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
Access ManagerApplication
Affected:= 4.1= 4.2

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify NetIQ Access Manager version
    Locate the installed version of NetIQ Access Manager through the administration console or system information files. Check the administration web interface under System Information or About, or inspect version files in the NetIQ installation directory.
    Affected if The installed version is 4.1.x before 4.1.2 HF 1, or 4.2.x before 4.2.2
  2. Confirm SAML component is active
    Determine whether the SAML Identity Provider or SAML Service Provider component is configured and running in the NetIQ Access Manager environment. Access the administration console and review Identity Server or SAML settings to see if any SAML federation is enabled.
    Affected if SAML functionality is enabled and the version falls within the affected range

You are affected if NetIQ Access Manager version is 4.1 before 4.1.2 HF 1 or 4.2 before 4.2.2, and SAML federation is configured.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to NetIQ Access Manager 4.1.2 HF 1 or 4.2.2 or later, which disable external entity resolution in the XML parser.

Fix this in Access Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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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-2016-5749 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
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