Jboss Enterprise Application PlatformApplication · Redhat
CVE-2016-8657
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 · uneditedIt was discovered that EAP packages in certain versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux use incorrect permissions for /etc/sysconfig/jbossas configuration files. The file is writable to jboss group (root:jboss, 664). On systems using classic /etc/init.d init scripts (i.e. on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and earlier), the file is sourced by the jboss init script and its content executed with root privileges when jboss service is started, stopped, or restarted.
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 confidenceIn certain RHEL 6 and earlier versions, the /etc/sysconfig/jbossas configuration file is owned by root:jboss with permissions 664, granting write access to the jboss group. Because the jboss init script sources this file when the service starts, stops, or restarts, any jboss group member can inject arbitrary commands that execute as root, achieving local privilege escalation.
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 Enterprise Application PlatformApplication
= 6.0.0= 6.4.0= 5.0.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check if the jbossas configuration file existsls -la /etc/sysconfig/jbossasAffected if file exists and is owned by root:jboss with permissions 664 (group write enabled)
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Verify ownership and permissions on /etc/sysconfig/jbossasstat -c '%U:%G %a' /etc/sysconfig/jbossasAffected if owner is root and group is jboss with permissions showing group write (e.g., 664, 662, 666)
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Confirm jboss group exists and has membersgetent group jbossAffected if jboss group exists and contains at least one non-root user account
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Check JBoss EAP installed versionrpm -q jbossas-core or rpm -qa | grep jbossasAffected if installed version is 5.0.0, 6.0.0, or 6.4.0
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Verify init script sources the configuration filegrep -q 'source.*jbossas' /etc/init.d/jbossas || grep -q '\. /etc/sysconfig/jbossas' /etc/init.d/jbossasAffected if the jboss init script contains commands to source or include /etc/sysconfig/jbossas
A system is affected if it runs JBoss EAP 5.0.0, 6.0.0, or 6.4.0 on RHEL 6 or earlier, has /etc/sysconfig/jbossas owned by root:jboss with group write permissions (664), and the jboss group contains non-root users who can modify that file to escalate to root.
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 dataChange ownership to root:root and permissions to 640 (or 600) to remove group write access, and migrate to systemd-based service management on supported RHEL versions.
Fix this in Jboss Enterprise Application Platform
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8657 — 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-2016-8657 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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