Fabric Operating SystemOperating system · Broadcom

CVE-2023-3489

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
The firmwaredownload command on Brocade Fabric OS v9.2.0 could log the FTP/SFTP/SCP server password in clear text in the SupportSave file when performing a downgrade from Fabric OS v9.2.0 to any earlier version of Fabric OS.

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

The firmwaredownload command on Brocade Fabric OS v9.2.0 logs FTP/SFTP/SCP server passwords in clear text to SupportSave files when performing a downgrade from v9.2.0 to any earlier Fabric OS version, exposing authentication credentials in plaintext.

MitigationAvoid downgrading from Fabric OS v9.2.0 when possible, and ensure SupportSave files containing credentials are securely stored or deleted after troubleshooting. Apply vendor-provided patches when available.

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
Fabric Operating SystemOperating system
Affected:= 9.2.0

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Fabric OS version
    Run 'firmwareShow' or check the system version to determine if the installed Fabric OS is version 9.2.0 exactly
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 9.2.0; versions before or after are not affected by this specific CVE
  2. Check for downgrade operations
    Review history of firmwaredownload command usage, specifically looking for downgrade operations from v9.2.0 to earlier versions using the --downgrade flag or equivalent syntax
    Affected if A downgrade from v9.2.0 to any earlier Fabric OS version was performed using the firmwaredownload command
  3. Locate SupportSave files
    Access the SupportSave directory or archive location (typically /support or similar on the fabric device) where diagnostic files are stored
    Affected if SupportSave files exist from sessions where a downgrade from v9.2.0 was performed
  4. Search for plaintext credentials
    Examine SupportSave files using grep or text search for patterns matching FTP, SFTP, or SCP server passwords in clear text; look for password strings in proximity to protocol identifiers
    Affected if Plaintext passwords for FTP, SFTP, or SCP servers appear in any SupportSave file content

A system is affected only if it is running Fabric OS v9.2.0 AND a downgrade to an earlier version was performed using firmwaredownload, resulting in plaintext credentials present in SupportSave files.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Avoid downgrading from Fabric OS v9.2.0 when possible, and ensure SupportSave files containing credentials are securely stored or deleted after troubleshooting. Apply vendor-provided patches when available.

Fix this in Fabric Operating System Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-3489 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-3489 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