dbcve.org
Vrealize AutomationApplication · VMware

CVE-2016-7460

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-12-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
The Single Sign-On feature in VMware vCenter Server 5.5 before U3e and 6.0 before U2a and vRealize Automation 6.x before 6.2.5 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files or cause a denial of service via an XML document containing an external entity declaration in conjunction with an entity reference, related to an XML External Entity (XXE) issue.

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

This is an XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerability in the Single Sign-On (SSO) component of VMware vCenter Server and vRealize Automation. Attackers can exploit this by submitting crafted XML documents containing external entity declarations to read arbitrary files from the server or cause denial of service.

MitigationApply VMware security patches U3e for vCenter Server 5.5, U2a for vCenter Server 6.0, and 6.2.5 for vRealize Automation 6.x. Until patches are applied, consider disabling the SSO feature or restricting network access to the affected services.

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
Vrealize AutomationApplication
Affected:= 6.0.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.1.1= 6.0.1.2= 6.1.0= 6.1.1= 6.2.0= 6.2.1= 6.2.2= 6.2.3= 6.2.4

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

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

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

  1. Identify vRealize Automation version
    Locate the installed vRealize Automation version through the product interface (typically available in the 'About' section of the admin console) or by checking installation manifests on the system
    Affected if The installed version matches any of: 6.0.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1.1, 6.0.1.2, 6.1.0, 6.1.1, 6.2.0, 6.2.1, 6.2.2, 6.2.3, 6.2.4
  2. Confirm SSO component is exposed
    Verify that the Single Sign-On (SSO) service is accessible on the network. This typically involves checking if ports or endpoints used by the SSO service (commonly on TCP 7444 or similar SSO ports) are open and reachable
    Affected if The SSO service is network-accessible from untrusted networks or the internet
  3. Determine if XML-based SSO endpoints are reachable
    Identify and inspect accessible SSO login or authentication endpoints that accept XML input, as these would be the vectors for XXE injection
    Affected if SSO endpoints that accept XML documents are exposed without proper input validation

You are affected if vRealize Automation version is 6.0.0 through 6.2.4 and the SSO component is accessible to potential attackers.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply VMware security patches U3e for vCenter Server 5.5, U2a for vCenter Server 6.0, and 6.2.5 for vRealize Automation 6.x. Until patches are applied, consider disabling the SSO feature or restricting network access to the affected services.

Recommended fix High confidence

vRealize Automation 6.2.5 or later

  1. Review the VMware vRealize Automation upgrade documentation before beginning
  2. Ensure you have a complete backup of the current vRealize Automation deployment
  3. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade will require downtime
  4. Download VMware vRealize Automation version 6.2.5 or later from the VMware download portal
  5. Follow the official upgrade procedure documented in the vRealize Automation 6.2.5 release notes
  6. Apply the upgrade to all vRealize Automation components in the correct order
  7. After upgrade, verify the SSO XML external entity processing has been patched by reviewing the release notes confirm the XXE fix is included
  8. Test that vRealize Automation services start correctly and the UI is accessible
Caveat Upgrade from 6.x may require downtime and should be tested in a staging environment first; review VMware compatibility guides for prerequisite patches (e.g., vCenter Server updates)

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Vrealize Automation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2016-7460 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data