CVE-2016-8583
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 · uneditedMultiple GET parameters in the vulnerability scan scheduler of AlienVault OSSIM and USM before 5.3.2 are vulnerable to reflected XSS.
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 confidenceReflected XSS vulnerability in multiple GET parameters of the vulnerability scan scheduler in AlienVault OSSIM and USM before version 5.3.2. User-supplied input in GET parameters is not properly sanitized or escaped before being included in the application response.
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<= 5.3.1<= 5.3.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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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Identify if AlienVault OSSIM or USM is installedCheck for the product by examining running processes (ps aux | grep -i alienvault) or installed packages (dpkg -l | grep alienvault or rpm -qa | grep alienvault). The web interface typically runs on Apache and the product installs to /etc/ossim or /var/lib/ossim.Affected if AlienVault OSSIM or USM is installed on the system
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Determine the installed OSSIM/USM versionExamine the version file or configuration: cat /etc/ossim/ossim_setup.conf and look for a version line, or run: alienvault-api --version if available, or check /usr/share/ossim/www/VERSION if it exists.Affected if The installed version is 5.3.1 or earlier (any version <= 5.3.1)
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Confirm access to the vulnerability scan scheduler web interfaceAttempt to access the web interface path for the vulnerability scan scheduler. Typically this is at /ossim/reporter/scheduler or similar paths under the OSSIM web interface. Check if the Apache web server is serving the AlienVault web application.Affected if The web interface is accessible and responds to requests for the vulnerability scan scheduler
A user is affected if AlienVault OSSIM or USM version 5.3.1 or earlier is installed and the web-based vulnerability scan scheduler is accessible, as the reflected XSS flaw exists in GET parameters of that component.
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 dataUpgrade to AlienVault OSSIM/USM version 5.3.2 or later which contains the security patch for this vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8583 — 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-2016-8583 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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