CVE-2017-3966
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 session variables, resource IDs and other trusted credentials vulnerability in the web interface in McAfee Network Security Management (NSM) before 8.2.7.42.2 allows remote attackers to exploit or harm a user's browser via reusing the exposed session token in the application URL.
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 confidenceMcAfee NSM web interface before version 8.2.7.42.2 exposes session tokens in application URLs, allowing remote attackers to hijack user sessions by reusing the exposed session token. This session token leakage occurs through the URL, which can be logged by proxies, browser history, or referrer headers.
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
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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 Network Security Manager installationLocate the NSM installation directory or check system services for McAfee NSM processesAffected if McAfee Network Security Manager is installed on the system
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Determine installed NSM versionAccess the NSM administration interface or check the software version through the installed package, then compare to 8.2.7.42.2Affected if The installed version is earlier than 8.2.7.42.2
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Verify web interface is enabledConfirm the NSM web interface service is running and accessible on the networkAffected if The NSM web interface is accessible and active
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Inspect application URLs for session tokensUse a browser or proxy to capture HTTP requests and responses from the NSM web interface, then examine URLs for session identifiers or tokens passed as URL parametersAffected if Session tokens appear in URLs (such as in query strings or path segments) rather than in HTTP-only cookies
The environment is affected if McAfee Network Security Manager is installed with a version lower than 8.2.7.42.2 and the web interface exposes session tokens in URLs.
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 Network Security Management to version 8.2.7.42.2 or later. Additionally, implement session token transmission via secure cookies (HttpOnly, Secure flags) instead of URL parameters.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-3966 — 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-2017-3966 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data