# CVE-2016-3983: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass malware detection in McAfee Advanced Threat Defense by leveraging parent process information.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 8 Apr 2016
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rgpq-8hgg-5c2q

## What is CVE-2016-3983?

CVE-2016-3983 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Apr 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

McAfee Advanced Threat Defense (ATD) before 3.4.8.178 might allow remote attackers to bypass malware detection by leveraging information about the parent process.

Weakness: CWE-345 (Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-3983?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mcafee Advanced Threat Defense.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-3983?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-3983 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-3983 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-3983 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2019-3663](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3663/): Advanced Threat Defense (ATD) - Unprotected storage of shared credentials vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-4052](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-4052/): Auth bypass in Advanced Threat Defense (ATD) (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-4053](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-4053/): Command injection in Advanced Threat Defense (ATD) (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-3651](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3651/): Advanced Threat Defense (ATD) - Information Disclosure vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-4054](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-4054/): Command injection in Advanced Threat Defense (ATD) (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-3983 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-3983 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 8 Apr 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-3983 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3983/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3983/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-3983
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-3983
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-3983

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3983/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.