CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2016-9684 — Dell Sonicwall Secure Remote Access Server security vulnerability

Critical CVSS 9.8

The SonicWall Secure Remote Access server (version 8.1.0.2-14sv) is vulnerable to a Remote Command Injection vulnerability in its web administrative interface. This vulnerability occurs in the 'viewcert' CGI (/cgi-bin/viewcert) component responsible for processing SSL certificate information. The CGI application doesn't properly escape the information it's passed in the 'CERT' variable before a call to system() is performed - allowing for remote command injection. Exploitation of this vulnerability yields shell access to the remote machine under the nobody user account.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.0)
Published
2017-02-22
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
operating-system
Weaknesses
CWE-77

Affected products

  • dell / sonicwall_secure_remote_access_server / 8.1.0.2-14sv

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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