CVE-2016-6532
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 · uneditedDEXIS Imaging Suite 10 has a hardcoded password for the sa account, which allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access by entering this password in a DEXIS_DATA SQL Server session.
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 confidenceDEXIS Imaging Suite 10 contains a hardcoded password for the SQL Server 'sa' (system administrator) account in its DEXIS_DATA database. Attackers can connect remotely to the SQL Server instance using this known credential and gain full administrative access to the database and potentially the underlying system.
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<= 10.0CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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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Confirm DEXIS Imaging Suite 10 is installedCheck the Windows Programs and Features list (appwiz.cpl) or the installation directory for DEXIS Imaging Suite version 10.0 or lower. Common installation paths include C:\Program Files\DEXIS or C:\Program Files (x86)\DEXIS.Affected if DEXIS Imaging Suite version 10.0 or lower is installed on the system
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Identify if SQL Server is runningOpen Services (services.msc) and look for SQL Server (DEXIS) or MSSQL$DEXIS entries, or run 'net start' in Command Prompt to list running services. Also check for listening ports (typically 1433) using 'netstat -an | findstr 1433'.Affected if A SQL Server instance named for DEXIS is running and accepting connections
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Verify if the sa password is still at defaultAttempt to connect to the SQL Server instance using the sa account with the hardcoded vendor default password. This can be done via SQL Server Management Studio, sqlcmd, or a PowerShell script using System.Data.SqlClient. The exact default password is vendor-supplied and should be treated as compromised if still in use.Affected if The SQL Server 'sa' account accepts the vendor default hardcoded password, indicating it was never changed from the install default
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Check SQL Server authentication and network exposureReview SQL Server Configuration Manager or the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\<instance>\MSSQLServer for Authentication Mode. Use SQL Server Surface Area Configuration or check firewall rules to determine if TCP/IP is enabled and port 1433 is exposed to network access.Affected if SQL Server is configured for mixed-mode authentication and TCP/IP is enabled, making remote exploitation possible
You are affected if DEXIS Imaging Suite 10 is installed and the SQL Server 'sa' account still uses the vendor hardcoded default password, allowing remote attackers full database administrative access.
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 dataImmediately change the default 'sa' password to a strong, unique credential, ensure the application uses secure credential storage, and contact the vendor for a patch eliminating hardcoded credentials.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $2,832.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6532 — 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-2016-6532 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