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Sonicwall Secure Remote Access ServerOperating system · Dell

CVE-2016-9683

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-02-22
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
The SonicWall Secure Remote Access server (version 8.1.0.2-14sv) is vulnerable to a Remote Command Injection vulnerability in its web administrative interface. This vulnerability occurs in the 'extensionsettings' CGI (/cgi-bin/extensionsettings) component responsible for handling some of the server's internal configurations. The CGI application doesn't properly escape the information it's passed when processing a particular multi-part form request involving scripts. The filename of the 'scriptname' variable is read in unsanitized before a call to system() is performed - allowing for remote command injection. Exploitation of this vulnerability yields shell access to the remote machine under the nobody user account. This is SonicWall Issue ID 181195.

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

Remote command injection in SonicWall Secure Remote Access server's extensionsettings CGI component. The scriptname variable from a multi-part form request is passed unsanitized to a system() call, allowing arbitrary command execution as the nobody user.

MitigationApply vendor patch from SonicWall (Issue ID 181195). If no patch available, restrict access to the /cgi-bin/extensionsettings endpoint via IP whitelisting, VPN, or firewall rules to limit exposure to trusted administrative networks.

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
Sonicwall Secure Remote Access ServerOperating system
Affected:= 8.1.0.2-14sv

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 SonicWall Secure Remote Access installation
    Check for Dell SonicWall Secure Remote Access Server on the system. Look for the service process or installation directory, typically under /opt/sonicwall or similar paths depending on OS.
    Affected if The software is present on the system
  2. Verify installed version
    Run the command to check the installed version of Dell SonicWall Secure Remote Access Server. On Linux systems, check /etc/sonicwall_version, or use the product's admin interface to view version info.
    Affected if The installed version matches exactly 8.1.0.2-14sv (this specific version is affected)
  3. Confirm extensionsettings CGI endpoint is accessible
    Verify the /cgi-bin/extensionsettings endpoint exists and is accessible on the server. Attempt to access it via HTTP/HTTPS request or check the web server configuration for the CGI script mapping.
    Affected if The endpoint responds and the CGI script is present and enabled
  4. Check network exposure to the vulnerable endpoint
    Review firewall rules, access control lists, or network segmentation to determine if the /cgi-bin/extensionsettings endpoint is accessible from untrusted networks or the public internet.
    Affected if The endpoint is reachable from untrusted/external networks without IP restriction

You are affected if Dell SonicWall Secure Remote Access Server version 8.1.0.2-14sv is installed AND the extensionsettings CGI is accessible, particularly from untrusted networks.

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

Apply vendor patch from SonicWall (Issue ID 181195). If no patch available, restrict access to the /cgi-bin/extensionsettings endpoint via IP whitelisting, VPN, or firewall rules to limit exposure to trusted administrative networks.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Contact SonicWall support for the fixed version corresponding to Issue ID 181195 - do not assume a version number

  1. 1. Identify the current exact version of SonicWall Secure Remote Access Server installed by navigating to the administrative interface and checking the system status or firmware version page.
  2. 2. Contact SonicWall technical support or visit the official SonicWall support portal at psirt.global.sonicwall.com to obtain the official patch for Issue ID 181195.
  3. 3. Request information about the fixed version for the 8.1.0.2-14sv release branch.
  4. 4. Before applying any upgrade or patch, back up the current configuration using the built-in backup/restore functionality in the SonicWall administrative interface.
  5. 5. Apply the official SonicWall patch or upgrade to the fixed version as specified by SonicWall support.
  6. 6. After upgrading, verify the system is operational and test that the extensionsettings CGI endpoint no longer accepts unsanitized input.
  7. 7. Review system logs to confirm no exploitation occurred prior to patching.
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration changes or compatibility considerations before upgrading

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

Fix this in Sonicwall Secure Remote Access Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,180
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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-2016-9683 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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