CVE-2018-6681
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 · uneditedAbuse of Functionality vulnerability in the web interface in McAfee Network Security Management (NSM) 9.1.7.11 and earlier allows authenticated users to allow arbitrary HTML code to be reflected in the response web page via appliance web interface.
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 confidenceReflected XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) vulnerability in McAfee Network Security Management (NSM) web interface allows authenticated users to inject arbitrary HTML/JavaScript code that gets reflected in the response page, potentially leading to session hijacking or credential theft.
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<= 9.1.7.11CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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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Verify McAfee NSM is installedCheck for McAfee Network Security Manager installation by looking for NSM-related processes or services running on the system (e.g., via task manager or service list)Affected if McAfee NSM software is present on the system
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Determine installed NSM versionAccess the NSM web interface login page or check the installed software version through the NSM administration console; the version is typically displayed in the login page footer or in the About section of the management interfaceAffected if The installed version is 9.1.7.11 or earlier
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Confirm web interface is enabledAttempt to access the NSM web interface via browser using the configured URL (typically https://<server>:8443 or similar port)Affected if The web interface is accessible and responds to requests
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Verify user authentication is configuredCheck if local or remote user authentication is enabled in the NSM administration settings, as the XSS vulnerability requires an authenticated user session to exploitAffected if User authentication is enabled and valid user accounts exist in the NSM system
The environment is affected if McAfee NSM is installed with version 9.1.7.11 or earlier and the web interface with user authentication is accessible.
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 dataApply the vendor patch for NSM 9.1.7.11 or later; implement proper input validation and output encoding on the affected web interface fields.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-6681 — 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-2018-6681 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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