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Network Security ManagerApplication · Mcafee

CVE-2017-3972

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-04-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.2.7.42.2 or later.
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
Infrastructure-based foot printing vulnerability in the web interface in McAfee Network Security Management (NSM) before 8.2.7.42.2 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via the server banner leaking potentially sensitive or security relevant information.

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

McAfee Network Security Management (NSM) web interface before version 8.2.7.42.2 contains an infrastructure footprinting vulnerability where the server banner leaks potentially sensitive information that could aid attackers in reconnaissance and further exploitation. The high CVSS score suggests the leaked banner information could be leveraged for additional attacks.

MitigationUpgrade McAfee NSM to version 8.2.7.42.2 or later to remediate the server banner information disclosure. If immediate patching is not possible, consider implementing a reverse proxy or WAF to filter sensitive server banner information.

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
Network Security ManagerApplication
Affected:< 8.2.7.42.2

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 McAfee NSM is installed and accessible
    Identify whether the McAfee Network Security Manager web interface is running in your environment. This is typically accessible via a web browser on the configured management port.
    Affected if McAfee NSM web interface is accessible in your environment
  2. Identify the installed McAfee NSM version
    Log into the NSM administration interface and navigate to the About or System Information section to find the exact version number. Alternatively, check the installation files or the running service version if accessible through system commands.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 8.2.7.42.2
  3. Retrieve the HTTP server banner
    Send an HTTP request to the NSM web interface (e.g., using curl -I <nsm_url> or a browser developer tool) and examine the Server header in the HTTP response headers.
    Affected if The Server header is present and reveals version or product information about the McAfee NSM server
  4. Assess banner sensitivity
    Review the server banner content for any version numbers, build identifiers, or other potentially sensitive configuration details that could aid reconnaissance.
    Affected if The banner contains version information, build numbers, or other details that could be useful to an attacker for targeting specific vulnerabilities

You are affected if your McAfee NSM version is below 8.2.7.42.2 and the HTTP Server header exposes version or configuration information that could assist attackers in reconnaissance.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.2.7.42.2 or later
Fixed in 8.2.7.42.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade McAfee NSM to version 8.2.7.42.2 or later to remediate the server banner information disclosure. If immediate patching is not possible, consider implementing a reverse proxy or WAF to filter sensitive server banner information.

Recommended fix High confidence

8.2.7.42.2

  1. 1. Verify current Network Security Manager version by checking the web interface or system information
  2. 2. Download McAfee Network Security Manager version 8.2.7.42.2 or later from the McAfee download portal
  3. 3. Review McAfee upgrade documentation for NSM before proceeding
  4. 4. Perform a complete backup of the NSM database and configuration
  5. 5. Stop NSM services before applying the upgrade
  6. 6. Install version 8.2.7.42.2 following McAfee's standard upgrade procedure
  7. 7. Verify the server banner no longer leaks sensitive version information after upgrade
  8. 8. Restart NSM services and confirm normal operation

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

Fix this in Network Security Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2017-3972 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