CVE-2016-9489
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 · uneditedIn ManageEngine Applications Manager 12 and 13 before build 13200, an authenticated user is able to alter all of their own properties, including own group, i.e. changing their group to one with higher privileges like "ADMIN". A user is also able to change properties of another user, e.g. change another user's password.
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 ManageEngine Applications Manager versions 12 and 13 before build 13200, an authenticated low-privilege user can escalate privileges to ADMIN by modifying their own user properties to change their group assignment. Additionally, any authenticated user can modify properties of other users, including changing their passwords, indicating broken access control in the user management functionality.
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= 12.0= 13.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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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Identify the installed version and build number of ManageEngine Applications ManagerAccess the product's 'About' or 'Version' information page, typically found in the Help menu or Administration section of the web interfaceAffected if The version shows 12.0 or 13.0 with a build number lower than 13200
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Verify user group assignment modification capabilityLog in as a low-privilege (non-admin) user and attempt to access the self-profile or user settings section where group/role assignments can be modifiedAffected if A low-privilege authenticated user can change their own group/role to Administrator or a higher privilege level
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Test cross-user property modificationLog in as a standard authenticated user and attempt to access or modify another user's account settings, particularly password or role propertiesAffected if Any authenticated user can modify properties of other users, including changing passwords or privilege levels, without proper authorization checks
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Check the build version stringReview the exact build identifier shown in the product interface or associated configuration filesAffected if The build identifier is earlier than 13200 for versions 12.x or 13.x
Your environment is affected if ManageEngine Applications Manager is version 12.0 or 13.0 with a build number below 13200, and any authenticated user can modify their own or other users' privilege settings without proper authorization.
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 ManageEngine Applications Manager to build 13200 or later to address the authorization bypass. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the management interface and audit existing admin accounts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-9489 — 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-2016-9489 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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