Access ManagerApplication · Netiq

CVE-2017-14803

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-01-20
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
In NetIQ Access Manager 4.3 and 4.4, a bug exists in Identity Server when accessing a basic SSO connector and downloading the BasicSSO connector plugins on IE11 where an attacker can execute arbitrary code on the system.

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

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in NetIQ Access Manager 4.3 and 4.4 Identity Server. When users download BasicSSO connector plugins using Internet Explorer 11, a flaw in the plugin download mechanism allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on the target system without authentication.

MitigationApply vendor-provided patches for NetIQ Access Manager 4.3/4.4. If patches are unavailable, consider disabling BasicSSO connector plugin downloads or restricting access to Identity Server until a fix is deployed.

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
Access ManagerApplication
Affected:= 4.3= 4.4

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. Confirm NetIQ Access Manager installation and version
    Locate the NetIQ Access Manager installation directory or check system inventory for the installed version number. Compare to 4.3 or 4.4.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 4.3 or 4.4.
  2. Verify Identity Server component is enabled
    Check the NetIQ Access Manager admin console or configuration files to confirm the Identity Server component is installed and active.
    Affected if Identity Server is running and accessible.
  3. Check if BasicSSO connector plugin download functionality is accessible
    Attempt to access the BasicSSO connector plugin download endpoint on the Identity Server, or inspect server configuration for BasicSSO plugin download settings.
    Affected if BasicSSO connector plugin download functionality is enabled and reachable.
  4. Identify client browsers accessing the download feature
    Review access logs or browser configuration on systems used to download BasicSSO connector plugins, noting if Internet Explorer 11 is in use.
    Affected if Users are downloading BasicSSO connector plugins using Internet Explorer 11.

If NetIQ Access Manager versions 4.3 or 4.4 are running with Identity Server and BasicSSO connector plugins can be downloaded via Internet Explorer 11, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-provided patches for NetIQ Access Manager 4.3/4.4. If patches are unavailable, consider disabling BasicSSO connector plugin downloads or restricting access to Identity Server until a fix is deployed.

Fix this in Access Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2017-14803 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