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Smart Update ManagerApplication · Hpe

CVE-2019-11988

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-06-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.3.5 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
A Remote Unauthorized Access vulnerability was identified in HPE Smart Update Manager (SUM) earlier than version 8.3.5.

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

A remote unauthorized access vulnerability exists in HPE Smart Update Manager (SUM) versions prior to 8.3.5. This critical flaw (CVSS 9.8) allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to the system, likely through a missing authentication mechanism or improper access control in the SUM web interface or API.

MitigationUpgrade HPE Smart Update Manager to version 8.3.5 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to SUM management interfaces using firewalls or ACLs.

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
Smart Update ManagerApplication
Affected:< 8.3.5

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. Identify HPE SUM installation and version
    Locate the HPE Smart Update Manager installation directory and check for version information files, or access the SUM web interface and navigate to the About or Help section to view the installed version number.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 8.3.5 (for example, 8.3.0, 8.2.x, or earlier).
  2. Verify web interface accessibility
    Determine if the HPE SUM web interface (typically on ports 50000 or 63000) is reachable from network locations. Use a browser to attempt access to the SUM URL or run a port scan to confirm the service is listening.
    Affected if The SUM web interface is exposed to untrusted networks without proper network segmentation.
  3. Confirm authentication is required
    Attempt to access the SUM web interface or API endpoints without providing credentials. Observe whether the system allows unauthenticated access or redirects to a login page.
    Affected if Unauthenticated access to SUM functionality is granted without being prompted for credentials.
  4. Review network access controls
    Inspect firewall rules, ACLs, or network segmentation surrounding the SUM server to determine if management interfaces are accessible only from trusted administrative networks.
    Affected if The SUM management ports are open to broad network ranges or the internet without restriction.

You are affected if HPE Smart Update Manager is installed at a version lower than 8.3.5 AND the SUM interface is accessible from your network without proper authentication controls in place.

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 8.3.5 or later
Fixed in 8.3.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade HPE Smart Update Manager to version 8.3.5 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to SUM management interfaces using firewalls or ACLs.

Recommended fix High confidence

HPE Smart Update Manager 8.3.5

  1. 1. Back up the current HPE Smart Update Manager configuration and any critical data.
  2. 2. Download HPE Smart Update Manager version 8.3.5 from the HPE Support Center (support.hpe.com) using your HPE account credentials.
  3. 3. Review the HPE SUM upgrade documentation for version 8.3.5 to ensure all prerequisites are met.
  4. 4. Stop any running SUM services before upgrading, following HPE's recommended shutdown procedures.
  5. 5. Install or apply HPE SUM version 8.3.5 using the appropriate method for your deployment (interactive or silent install).
  6. 6. After installation, verify that SUM services start successfully.
  7. 7. Confirm the installed version is 8.3.5 by checking the SUM interface or version command.
  8. 8. Validate that the remote unauthorized access vulnerability is remediated by reviewing HPE's security bulletin for CVE-2019-11988.
Caveat Review HPE release notes for 8.3.5 to confirm no breaking changes affect your specific environment; minor version upgrades typically maintain backward compatibility

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

Fix this in Smart Update Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
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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-2019-11988 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