CVE-2016-6038
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 · uneditedDirectory traversal vulnerability in Eclipse Help in IBM Tivoli Lightweight Infrastructure (aka LWI), as used in AIX 5.3, 6.1, and 7.1, allows remote authenticated users to read arbitrary files via a crafted URL.
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 confidenceDirectory traversal vulnerability in Eclipse Help component of IBM Tivoli Lightweight Infrastructure allows authenticated remote users to read arbitrary files on the system by using '../' sequences in crafted URLs to escape the intended web root directory and access sensitive system files.
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= 5.3= 6.1= 7.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify AIX versionRun 'oslevel -s' or 'bootinfo -K' to confirm the installed AIX version matches 5.3, 6.1, or 7.1Affected if Running AIX 5.3, 6.1, or 7.1
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Confirm IBM Tivoli Lightweight Infrastructure is installedCheck for installation using 'lslpp -l | grep -i tivoli' or inspect /opt/tivoli directory existenceAffected if Tivoli Lightweight Infrastructure software is present on the system
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Identify if Eclipse Help component is enabledInspect running services or check configuration files in the Tivoli installation directory for help system components (look for help server, port 8080/8443, or web.xml configurations)Affected if Eclipse Help web component is running and accessible
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Check help system URL handling configurationReview server configuration files (such as server.xml or web.xml in the help subsystem) for input validation or path security settings related to '../' sequencesAffected if No path traversal protection or '../' sequence filtering is configured in the help web component
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Verify authentication requirements for help systemConfirm whether the help interface requires authenticated access by testing endpoint access or reviewing access control configurationAffected if Unauthenticated access to the help system is possible, or the vulnerability can be reached with valid credentials
The environment is affected if running AIX 5.3, 6.1, or 7.1 with IBM Tivoli Lightweight Infrastructure installed and the Eclipse Help component enabled, without proper input validation on URL paths to block '../' traversal sequences.
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 dataImplement strict input validation on URL paths to reject sequences containing '..' or implement proper access controls at the web server level to restrict file access to intended help content directories only.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6038 — 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-2016-6038 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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