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Provisioning ServicesApplication · Citrix

CVE-2016-9676

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-01-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Buffer overflow in Citrix Provisioning Services before 7.12 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors.

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 · moderate confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Citrix Provisioning Services (CPS) versions prior to 7.12 permits remote attackers to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical), indicating trivial exploitability and severe impact.

MitigationUpgrade Citrix Provisioning Services to version 7.12 or later to remediate the vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to PVS servers and implement additional authentication controls.

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
Provisioning ServicesApplication
Affected:= 7.0= 7.1= 7.6= 7.7= 7.8= 7.9= 7.11

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 if Citrix Provisioning Services is installed
    Check for the presence of Citrix Provisioning Services by looking for the PVS installation directory (typically at C:\Program Files\Citrix\Provisioning Services or C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Provisioning Services), or look for the 'Citrix Provisioning Services' or 'PVS' service in Windows Services.
    Affected if The software is not found on the system, then the system is not affected.
  2. Determine the installed version of Citrix Provisioning Services
    Locate the version information by checking the PVS server properties: open the Citrix Provisioning Services console and view the server version, or check the executable version by right-clicking pvsservice.exe in the PVS installation directory and selecting Properties > Details for the File Version.
    Affected if A version number cannot be determined, treat it as potentially affected and continue to next checks.
  3. Compare installed version against affected versions
    Compare the installed version number to the affected list: 7.0, 7.1, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, and 7.11. Any of these versions or any version prior to 7.12 is affected.
    Affected if The installed version matches 7.0, 7.1, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, or 7.11, or is any version lower than 7.12.
  4. Verify PVS server service status and exposure
    Open Windows Services and verify the 'Citrix Provisioning Services' or 'PVS Stream Service' is running. Check network configuration to determine if the PVS server ports (TCP 6890-6900 typically used for PVS streaming) are exposed to untrusted networks.
    Affected if The PVS service is running and the server is network-accessible from untrusted locations, the critical severity of remote code execution is fully realized.
  5. Assess network accessibility of PVS servers
    Review firewall rules and network segmentation to determine if PVS servers are reachable from outside the trusted internal network. Use netstat or firewall logs to identify open ports associated with PVS services.
    Affected if PVS servers are directly accessible from the internet or untrusted network segments, indicating high exposure to remote exploitation.

A system is affected if Citrix Provisioning Services is installed and the installed version is 7.0, 7.1, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 7.11, or any version prior to 7.12, with the PVS service running and network-accessible.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Citrix Provisioning Services to version 7.12 or later to remediate the vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to PVS servers and implement additional authentication controls.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Citrix Provisioning Services 7.12

  1. 1. Backup the current Citrix Provisioning Services configuration and database.
  2. 2. Review Citrix compatibility documentation for version 7.12 requirements.
  3. 3. Download Citrix Provisioning Services version 7.12 from the official Citrix download portal.
  4. 4. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first.
  5. 5. Execute the upgrade installer on the Provisioning Services server.
  6. 6. Verify all services start correctly after upgrade.
  7. 7. Test provisioning functionality to confirm normal operation.
  8. 8. Monitor logs for any post-upgrade issues.
Caveat Review Citrix release notes for version 7.12 for any configuration or compatibility changes before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Provisioning Services Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2016-9676 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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