CVE-2016-5788
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 · uneditedGeneral Electric (GE) Bently Nevada 3500/22M USB with firmware before 5.0 and Bently Nevada 3500/22M Serial have open ports, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain privileged access via unspecified vectors.
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 confidenceThe GE Bently Nevada 3500/22M monitoring system (both USB and Serial variants with firmware prior to 5.0) contains open network ports that allow remote attackers to gain privileged access to the device. This is a vibration monitoring device used in industrial rotating machinery applications, and the open port exposure enables unauthenticated remote compromise.
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 dataall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify GE Bently Nevada 3500/22M devices on the networkScan the network for devices with known IP ranges or check asset inventory for the device model number 3500/22M. Look for device hostnames or MAC OUI prefixes associated with GE/Bently Nevada equipment.Affected if The device is present in the environment and is a GE Bently Nevada 3500/22M monitoring system.
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Determine the firmware versionAccess the device management interface via its web UI, console connection, or use manufacturer diagnostic tools to query the installed firmware version. Compare the version number against the 5.0 threshold.Affected if The installed firmware version is below 5.0 or cannot be determined (treat unknown versions as vulnerable).
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Check for open network ports on the devicePerform a port scan against the device IP address using nmap or similar tools. Look for open ports that may expose management interfaces or proprietary services.Affected if Open network ports are detected and accessible from network segments that are not strictly controlled.
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Verify network segmentationReview network architecture diagrams and firewall rules to determine if the device is isolated from untrusted networks. Check whether the device is directly accessible from corporate or public networks.Affected if The device is reachable from networks without adequate access controls or firewall filtering.
The environment is affected if a GE Bently Nevada 3500/22M device with firmware prior to version 5.0 is present and its network ports are accessible from non-segmented network paths.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate firmware to version 5.0 or later. Additionally, implement network segmentation and firewall controls to restrict unauthorized access to the device's network interfaces.
Firmware version 5.0 or later
- Contact GE Bently Nevada technical support to obtain firmware version 5.0 or later
- Request and follow the vendor-provided firmware upgrade procedure specific to the 3500/22M device
- Verify the firmware version after upgrade to confirm resolution
- Ensure network segmentation and access controls are in place as additional defense-in-depth measures
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5788 — 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-2016-5788 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data