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EdirectoryApplication · Netiq

CVE-2017-5186

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-04-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.8 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Novell iManager 2.7 before SP7 Patch 9, NetIQ iManager 3.x before 3.0.2.1, Novell eDirectory 8.8.x before 8.8 SP8 Patch 9 Hotfix 2, and NetIQ eDirectory 9.x before 9.0.2 Hotfix 2 (9.0.2.2) use the deprecated MD5 hashing algorithm in a communications certificate.

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 confidence

Multiple Novell and NetIQ products (iManager 2.7/3.x and eDirectory 8.8.x/9.x) use the cryptographically weak MD5 hashing algorithm for communications certificates, making them vulnerable to collision attacks and potential certificate forgery.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches: SP7 Patch 9 for iManager 2.7, version 3.0.2.1 for iManager 3.x, SP8 Patch 9 Hotfix 2 for eDirectory 8.8.x, and Hotfix 2 (9.0.2.2) for eDirectory 9.x. Consider re-issuing affected certificates with stronger hash algorithms post-patch.

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
EdirectoryApplication
Affected:= 9.0= 9.0.1= 9.0.2
ImanagerApplication
Affected:= 3.0= 3.0.1= 3.0.2
EdirectoryApplication
Affected:<= 8.8
ImanagerApplication
Affected:<= 2.7

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Identify installed eDirectory version
    Use the 'ndsconfig get n4u.server.version' command or check the eDirectory version through the iManager console under the 'eDirectory Maintenance' section
    Affected if The version matches 9.0, 9.0.1, 9.0.2 for NetIQ eDirectory, or is 8.8.x or lower for Novell eDirectory
  2. Identify installed iManager version
    Check the iManager version by logging into the iManager web interface, typically displayed on the login page or in the 'Help > About' section, or check the installed package version using the operating system's package manager
    Affected if The version matches 3.0, 3.0.1, 3.0.2 for NetIQ iManager, or is 2.7 or lower for Novell iManager
  3. Inspect certificate hash algorithm
    Export or view the SSL/TLS certificate used for eDirectory or iManager communications (typically found in the server's certificate store or LDAPS configuration), then use 'openssl x509 -in <cert.pem> -noout -text' to view the certificate signature algorithm
    Affected if The signature algorithm shows 'md5', 'MD5', or 'sha1WithRSAEncryption' indicating a weak hash is in use for certificate signing
  4. Check LDAPS configuration
    Examine the LDAPS settings in the eDirectory Admin console or check the ssl configuration files for the LDAP/SSL service (commonly in /etc/opt/novell/ssl or through the iManager 'LDAP' > 'SSL/TLS' settings)
    Affected if The configuration references certificates using MD5-based signatures or does not specify a stronger hash algorithm like SHA-256
  5. Verify certificate authority hash
    If using an internal Certificate Authority, check the CA certificate hash algorithm using 'openssl x509 -in <ca.pem> -noout -text' on the certificate authority certificate
    Affected if The CA certificate was signed using MD5, making any issued server certificates vulnerable to collision attacks

You are affected if any of the identified product versions match the vulnerable versions AND the certificates in use are signed with the weak MD5 hash algorithm.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 8.8
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches: SP7 Patch 9 for iManager 2.7, version 3.0.2.1 for iManager 3.x, SP8 Patch 9 Hotfix 2 for eDirectory 8.8.x, and Hotfix 2 (9.0.2.2) for eDirectory 9.x. Consider re-issuing affected certificates with stronger hash algorithms post-patch.

Fix this in Edirectory Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
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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-2017-5186 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