CVE-2000-1158: NAI Sniffer Agent uses base64 encoding for authentication, which allows attackers to sniff the network and...

Security readout for executives and security teams

The NAI Sniffer Agent, a network monitoring tool, protected its login credentials with base64 encoding rather than real encryption. Base64 is just reversible formatting, not a security control, so anyone able to observe the network traffic could recover the username and password and log in as an administrator of the sniffer device. Exposure is limited today because NAI Distributed Sniffer Agent is a legacy 1990s/early-2000s product line largely superseded by NetScout and other successors. Any remaining deployments on flat management networks, in lab environments, or in unmanaged industrial segments would still leak credentials to any on-path observer. Low urgency for most modern enterprises because the affected product is largely obsolete, but treat any surviving deployment as an unaccepted credential-disclosure risk and prioritize its removal in the current asset lifecycle plan. Mitigation focus: Inventory any surviving NAI/Network Associates Sniffer Agent installations and schedule retirement.; Restrict sniffer management traffic to an isolated, encrypted out-of-band network.; Rotate any credentials that may have traversed the affected agents..

Prepared

Jul 12, 2026, 00:03 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.