CVE-2016-9169
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 · uneditedA reflected XSS vulnerability exists in the web console of the Document Viewer Agent in Novell GroupWise before 2014 R2 Support Pack 1 Hot Patch 2 that may enable a remote attacker to execute JavaScript in the context of a valid user's browser session by getting the user to click on a specially crafted link. This could lead to session compromise or other browser-based attacks.
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 the web console of the Document Viewer Agent in Novell GroupWise. An attacker can craft a malicious URL that, when clicked by an authenticated user, executes arbitrary JavaScript in the user's browser context, potentially leading to session hijacking.
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= 2014CVSS 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 GroupWise installation and versionCheck the installed Novell GroupWise version on the system. In Windows, this is typically viewable through the Windows Registry under HKLM\Software\Novell\GroupWise\InstallPath or through the GroupWise client/agent version information. On Linux, check via rpm package query: rpm -q groupwise or via the installation directory's version file.Affected if The installed version is exactly 2014 (version = 2014)
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Locate Document Viewer Agent componentVerify the Document Viewer Agent (DVA) component is installed. Check the GroupWise installation directory for the DocumentViewerAgent or dva folder, and verify the DVA executables exist (typically dvagw.exe on Windows or equivalent binary on Linux).Affected if The Document Viewer Agent component is present on the system
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Confirm web console is enabledInspect the Document Viewer Agent configuration to determine if the web console interface is enabled. Check the DVA configuration file (typically dvacfg.xml or dva.conf) for web server or HTTP listener settings.Affected if The DVA web console HTTP/HTTPS listener is configured as enabled
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Check web console accessibilityDetermine if the Document Viewer Agent web console port is listening and accessible. Verify the configured port (commonly port 8080 or 443 for DVA) is in a listening state using netstat or equivalent tool, and check if the web service responds to HTTP requests.Affected if The DVA web console port is open and the HTTP service responds
A system is affected only if GroupWise version is exactly 2014 AND the Document Viewer Agent web console component is installed and enabled with network accessibility.
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 dataApply GroupWise 2014 R2 Support Pack 1 Hot Patch 2 or later. Implement output encoding and input validation on the Document Viewer Agent web console as a defense-in-depth measure.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-9169 — 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-2016-9169 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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