CVE-2016-5934
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 · uneditedIBM Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack installer could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system. By placing a specially-crafted DLL in the victim's path, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability when the installer is executed to run arbitrary code on the system with privileges of the victim.
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 confidenceIBM Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack installer is vulnerable to DLL hijacking. An attacker can place a specially-crafted malicious DLL in a directory that is in the system's search path or the installer's working directory. When the installer executes, it will load the attacker's DLL instead of the legitimate one due to insecure DLL search path handling, allowing arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running the installer.
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 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify if IBM Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack is installedCheck for the presence of the FastBack installation directory (typically under C:\Program Files\IBM\Tivoli\TSM\FastBack or similar) or query the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry named 'IBM Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack'Affected if The product is found installed on the system - all versions are affected by this vulnerability since no patch version is specified as unaffected
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Identify the installer's locationLocate the FastBack installer executable (commonly named setup.exe, FastBack_Install.exe, or similar) in the installation media or in a download folderAffected if The installer executable exists on the system - the DLL hijacking flaw is present in the installer binary itself
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Examine directories in the system PATH for write accessOpen a command prompt and run 'echo %PATH%' to list system PATH directories, then use 'icacls <directory>' to check if unprivileged users have Write permission to any PATH folderAffected if Any directory in the system PATH is writable by non-admin users - an attacker could place a malicious DLL there for hijacking when the installer runs
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Check the installer's working directory for write accessIdentify a typical directory from which the installer would be run (downloads folder, shared network location, desktop), then use 'icacls <directory>' to verify write permissions for standard usersAffected if The directory where the installer is stored or typically run from is writable by unprivileged users - an attacker could substitute a malicious DLL in that location
If IBM Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack is installed on the system, the environment is affected by this DLL hijacking vulnerability, and the risk is higher if any directory in the PATH or the installer's working directory is writable by unprivileged users.
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 when available. As a compensating control, ensure the installer is run from a controlled, trusted directory and remove write permissions from directories in the system PATH accessible to unprivileged users to prevent attackers from placing malicious DLLs.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5934 — 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-2016-5934 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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