NimbleosOperating system · Hpe

CVE-2019-11996

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-11-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.1.2.0 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
Potential security vulnerabilities have been identified with HPE Nimble Storage systems in multi array group configurations. The vulnerabilities could be exploited by an attacker to gain elevated privileges on the array. The following NimbleOS versions, and all subsequent releases, contain a software fix for this vulnerability: 3.9.2.0, 4.5.5.0, 5.0.8.0 and 5.1.3.0.

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

HPE Nimble Storage systems in multi-array group configurations contain a privilege escalation vulnerability allowing attackers to gain elevated privileges on the array, likely through an authentication bypass or improper authorization check in the storage management interface.

MitigationUpgrade NimbleOS to version 3.9.2.0, 4.5.5.0, 5.0.8.0, 5.1.3.0 or later releases to remediate the vulnerability.

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
NimbleosOperating system
Affected:>= 3.1.0.0, <= 3.9.1.0>= 4.1.0.0, <= 4.5.4.0>= 5.0.1.0, <= 5.0.7.0>= 5.1.0.0, <= 5.1.2.0

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:3.1/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 HPE Nimble Storage system
    Identify if the storage array is an HPE Nimble product through hardware labeling, management interface, or system documentation
    Affected if System is confirmed as HPE Nimble Storage array
  2. Determine NimbleOS version
    Access the Nimble storage management interface or CLI and retrieve the installed NimbleOS version number
    Affected if Version falls within any of these ranges: 3.1.0.0-3.9.1.0, 4.1.0.0-4.5.4.0, 5.0.1.0-5.0.7.0, or 5.1.0.0-5.1.2.0
  3. Check multi-array group configuration
    Verify whether the Nimble array is part of a multi-array group or group leader setup through the storage management interface
    Affected if Array is configured as part of a multi-array group
  4. Verify management interface accessibility
    Confirm that the storage management interface (web GUI or API) is network-accessible, even if only from internal networks
    Affected if Management interface is exposed on the network

User is affected if the system is an HPE Nimble Storage array running a NimbleOS version within the affected ranges AND configured in a multi-array group setup.

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 a release after 5.1.2.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade NimbleOS to version 3.9.2.0, 4.5.5.0, 5.0.8.0, 5.1.3.0 or later releases to remediate the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to NimbleOS 3.9.2.0 (for 3.x branch), 4.5.5.0 (for 4.x branch), 5.0.8.0 (for 5.0.x branch), or 5.1.3.0 (for 5.1.x branch) depending on current version

  1. Identify the current NimbleOS version by accessing the array controller GUI or using the 'nsversion' CLI command
  2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version: versions 3.1.0.0-3.9.1.0 upgrade to 3.9.2.0; versions 4.1.0.0-4.5.4.0 upgrade to 4.5.5.0; versions 5.0.1.0-5.0.7.0 upgrade to 5.0.8.0; versions 5.1.0.0-5.1.2.0 upgrade to 5.1.3.0
  3. Review HPE Nimble Storage upgrade documentation and ensure compatibility with any connected infrastructure
  4. Create a complete array configuration backup before initiating the upgrade
  5. Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades require brief array downtime
  6. Download the appropriate NimbleOS firmware bundle from support.hpe.com
  7. Upload the firmware bundle through the Nimble GUI (Arrays > Update) or CLI using 'nimmupg' command
  8. Monitor the upgrade progress and verify all controllers update successfully
Caveat Review HPE NimbleOS release notes for any feature changes or migration considerations between major version branches before upgrading

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

Fix this in Nimbleos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2019-11996 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