CVE-2017-3960
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 · uneditedExploitation of Authorization vulnerability in the web interface in McAfee Network Security Management (NSM) before 8.2.7.42.2 allows authenticated users to gain elevated privileges via a crafted HTTP request parameter.
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 confidenceThis is an authorization/privilege escalation vulnerability in McAfee NSM's web interface. An authenticated user can craft HTTP request parameters to elevate their privileges beyond what their assigned role should permit. The vulnerability stems from insufficient authorization checks in the web application's request handling logic.
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< 8.2.7.42.2CVSS 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 McAfee NSM installation versionAccess the NSM administrative interface or check the product version information through the system console. Locate the version number displayed in the product's about or system information section.Affected if The installed version is lower than 8.2.7.42.2 (any version < 8.2.7.42.2 is affected)
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Verify web interface is enabledConfirm that the NSM web interface service is running and accessible. Check if the web-based administrative console is currently active.Affected if The web interface is enabled and accessible to users - this is the attack vector for the vulnerability
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Review user role assignmentsExamine the NSM user management console to see which users are assigned to non-administrative roles. Identify accounts that have limited privileges but may have accessed the system.Affected if Non-administrative user accounts exist in the system who could potentially exploit the privilege escalation
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Audit recent administrative activityInspect NSM logs or audit trails for any administrative actions performed by users who should only have standard or limited privileges. Look for configuration changes, policy modifications, or system settings altered by accounts without elevated permissions.Affected if Any administrative actions were performed by users whose assigned role should not permit such operations
You are affected if your NSM version is below 8.2.7.42.2 and the web interface is accessible to authenticated users who could attempt privilege escalation.
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 data8.2.7.42.2
Upgrade McAfee NSM to version 8.2.7.42.2 or later to obtain the vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict web interface access to trusted users only and monitor for unusual administrative activity.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-3960 — 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-2017-3960 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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