Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw affects McAfee security management products and could let a remote attacker abuse web-session handling to expose sensitive information or change database content. It is serious because NSM and NDLP are security-control systems. The provided sources do not show confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation where NSM or NDLP manage sensitive security controls or are reachable beyond a tightly controlled admin network. The issue is high severity, but available evidence does not show known active exploitation.
Technical view
CVE-2017-3968 is a session fixation vulnerability in McAfee NSM before 8.2.7.42.2 and McAfee NDLP before 9.3.4.1.5. The CVSS 3.0 vector is 7.5 high, with network attack vector, low complexity, high privileges, user interaction required, changed scope, high confidentiality impact, and low integrity and availability impacts.
Likely exposure
Organizations running McAfee Network Security Manager 8.x below 8.2.7.42.2 or McAfee Network Data Loss Prevention 9.3 below 9.3.4.1.5 are potentially exposed, especially if the web interface is reachable by administrators over broad networks.
Exploitation context
The source bundle describes remote exploitation through a crafted authentication cookie, but the CVSS score indicates high privileges and user interaction are required. CISA KEV status is false, and no cited source in the bundle confirms active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to CVE data and McAfee advisory references. Treat exploitability details conservatively: the description says crafted authentication cookie, while CVSS requires high privileges and user interaction. Validate affected versions and advisory applicability before asserting exposure.
Mitigation direction
- Review McAfee advisories SB10198 and SB10192 for product-specific remediation guidance.
- Upgrade NSM to 8.2.7.42.2 or later if affected.
- Upgrade NDLP to 9.3.4.1.5 or later if affected.
- Restrict management web interfaces to trusted administrative networks.
- Follow vendor incident-response guidance if compromise is suspected.
Validation and detection
- Inventory McAfee NSM and NDLP deployments and record exact versions.
- Compare NSM versions against the 8.2.7.42.2 fixed threshold.
- Compare NDLP versions against the 9.3.4.1.5 fixed threshold.
- Check whether management web interfaces are externally or broadly reachable.
- Review authentication and administrative activity logs for unexplained database or session activity.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
Credential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupDatabase behavior lookup
The CVE wording references database injection or access, so collection and exfiltration review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2017-3968 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L1.75.3Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10198CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10192CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.