dbcve.org
Network Security ManagerApplication · Mcafee

CVE-2019-3597

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-03-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.1.7.75 / 9.2.7.31 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
Authentication Bypass vulnerability in McAfee Network Security Manager (NSM) 9.1 < 9.1.7.75.2 and 9.2 < 9.2.7.31 (9.2 Update 2) allows unauthenticated users to gain administrator rights via incorrect handling of expired GUI sessions.

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

McAfee Network Security Manager (NSM) versions 9.1 before 9.1.7.75.2 and 9.2 before 9.2.7.31 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability where expired GUI sessions are incorrectly handled, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to gain full administrator privileges without credentials.

MitigationUpgrade McAfee NSM to version 9.1.7.75.2 or 9.2.7.31 (9.2 Update 2) or later to remediate the vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the NSM management interface to trusted admin networks.

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:>= 9.1, < 9.1.7.75>= 9.2, < 9.2.7.31

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
    Check if the McAfee Network Security Manager service or process is running on the system. Look for processes named 'nsm', 'McAfee NSM', or check the installed programs list for McAfee Network Security Manager.
    Affected if McAfee NSM is not installed on the system
  2. Locate the NSM version information
    Check the NSM installation directory for a version file, or access the NSM management console and navigate to Help > About to view the installed version number.
    Affected if Unable to retrieve the version information from the system
  3. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    If version is 9.1.x, verify it is below 9.1.7.75.2. If version is 9.2.x, verify it is below 9.2.7.31. Versions 9.1.7.75.2 and above, and 9.2.7.31 and above, are not affected.
    Affected if The installed version falls within the range 9.1.x < 9.1.7.75.2 or 9.2.x < 9.2.7.31
  4. Assess GUI exposure (optional context)
    Determine if the NSM web-based management console is accessible over the network. Check firewall rules and network accessibility of ports used by the NSM GUI (typically ports 443 or 8443).
    Affected if The NSM GUI is network-accessible from untrusted networks and the version is vulnerable

The environment is affected if McAfee Network Security Manager is installed and the installed version is 9.1.x before 9.1.7.75.2 or 9.2.x before 9.2.7.31.

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 9.1.7.75 / 9.2.7.31 or later
Fixed in 9.1.7.759.2.7.31
Interim mitigation

Upgrade McAfee NSM to version 9.1.7.75.2 or 9.2.7.31 (9.2 Update 2) or later to remediate the vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the NSM management interface to trusted admin networks.

Recommended fix High confidence

NSM 9.1.7.75 (or higher) or NSM 9.2.7.31 (9.2 Update 2 or higher)

  1. Download McAfee Network Security Manager 9.1.7.75 (or 9.1.7.75.2) from the McAfee download portal for systems running 9.1.x
  2. Download McAfee Network Security Manager 9.2.7.31 (also known as 9.2 Update 2) from the McAfee download portal for systems running 9.2.x
  3. Review McAfee NSM release notes for any pre-installation requirements
  4. Backup the current NSM database and configuration
  5. Install the appropriate fixed version (9.1.7.75+ or 9.2.7.31+) following the standard NSM upgrade procedure
  6. Verify the upgrade was successful by logging into the NSM GUI
  7. Confirm that expired GUI sessions are now properly invalidated and require re-authentication
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration changes or migration requirements between versions

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

Fix this in Network Security Manager 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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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-2019-3597 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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