CVE-2017-16629
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 SapphireIMS 4097_1, it is possible to guess the registered/active usernames of the software from the errors it gives out for each type of user on the Login form. For "Incorrect User" - it gives an error "The application failed to identify the user. Please contact administrator for help." For "Correct User and Incorrect Password" - it gives an error "Authentication failed. Please login again."
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 confidenceSapphireIMS login form contains a username enumeration vulnerability where different error messages are returned for invalid usernames versus incorrect passwords. An attacker can determine valid usernames by observing the distinct responses: 'The application failed to identify the user' for non-existent users and 'Authentication failed' for valid users with wrong passwords.
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= 4097_1CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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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Confirm SapphireIMS installationAccess your SapphireIMS web interface or check the application directory for version identifiers. Look at the login page source or HTTP headers for version information.Affected if The installed version matches 4097_1 or is an unspecified variant of SapphireIMS
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Test login response for non-existent usernameSubmit a login request with a clearly invalid username (e.g., 'nonexistentuser123') that does not exist in the system. Capture the error message returned by the application.Affected if The error message contains 'The application failed to identify the user' or similar text indicating the username does not exist
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Test login response for valid username with wrong passwordSubmit a login request using a known valid username but an incorrect password. Capture the error message returned by the application.Affected if The error message contains 'Authentication failed' or indicates authentication failure for a valid user
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Compare error message responsesReview both error messages obtained from steps 2 and 3. Determine if they are distinct and reveal whether the username is valid.Affected if The two error messages are different and allow an attacker to enumerate valid usernames
Your environment is affected if the login form returns distinct error messages that differ between non-existent usernames and valid usernames with incorrect passwords, enabling user enumeration.
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 dataImplement uniform error messaging for all authentication failures to prevent user enumeration. The login form should return a generic message such as 'Invalid username or password' regardless of whether the username or password is incorrect.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16629 — 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-2017-16629 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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