dbcve.org
Jboss A MqApplication · Redhat

CVE-2016-8648

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-08-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
It was found that the Karaf container used by Red Hat JBoss Fuse 6.x, and Red Hat JBoss A-MQ 6.x, deserializes objects passed to MBeans via JMX operations. An attacker could use this flaw to execute remote code on the server as the user running the Java Virtual Machine if the target MBean contain deserialization gadgets in its classpath.

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

The Karaf container in Red Hat JBoss Fuse 6.x and A-MQ 6.x deserializes objects passed to MBeans through JMX operations without proper validation. An attacker can exploit this by sending malicious serialized objects via JMX, leveraging deserialization gadget chains present in the classpath to achieve remote code execution as the JVM process user.

MitigationRestrict JMX access to trusted networks only, enable JMX authentication with strong credentials, enable SSL/TLS for JMX connections, and apply available vendor patches. If JMX is not required, disable remote JMX access entirely.

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
Jboss A MqApplication
Affected:= 6.0.0
Jboss FuseApplication
Affected:= 6.0.0

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed product and version
    Run 'grep -r "jboss" /opt' or check installation directories for JBoss Fuse or A-MQ. Look for version files in the installation root, typically named 'version.txt' or 'karaf.version'. Alternatively, check the output of 'org.apache.karaf.version' in the Karaf console if accessible.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly Red Hat JBoss Fuse 6.0.0 or Red Hat JBoss A-MQ 6.0.0
  2. Confirm Karaf container is in use
    Check for the presence of the Karaf runtime by searching for 'karaf.jar' or 'org.apache.karaf' in the classpath or lib directories. In the JBoss Fuse/A-MQ installation, locate the 'bin' folder and inspect startup scripts for Karaf references.
    Affected if The environment uses Apache Karaf as the container runtime
  3. Verify JMX is exposed and accessible
    Check the 'etc/org.apache.karaf.management.cfg' or 'etc/jmx.acl.cfg' configuration files in the Karaf etc directory. Look for 'jmxRemotePort' or similar settings. Also check network listeners: run 'netstat -an | grep -E "(1099|1090|4444|4445)" or review 'etc/org.apache.karaf.management.cfg' for 'jmxHost' set to a non-localhost address.
    Affected if JMX is enabled and bound to a non-loopback IP address, or the JMX connector port is exposed on a network interface
  4. Check JMX authentication configuration
    Inspect the 'etc/org.apache.karaf.management.cfg' file for 'jmxAuthenticator' settings and 'etc/jmx.acl.cfg' for access control configuration. Verify whether 'jmxUser' and 'jmxPassword' are set with credentials, or if authentication is explicitly disabled.
    Affected if JMX authentication is disabled, uses default credentials, or no password is configured in the JMX management configuration

You are affected if you run exactly JBoss Fuse 6.0.0 or A-MQ 6.0.0 with JMX exposed over the network and either JMX authentication is disabled or uses weak/default credentials.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Restrict JMX access to trusted networks only, enable JMX authentication with strong credentials, enable SSL/TLS for JMX connections, and apply available vendor patches. If JMX is not required, disable remote JMX access entirely.

Fix this in Jboss A Mq Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,380
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,608.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8648 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2016-8648 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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