# CVE-2019-3597: Authentication bypass in McAfee Network Security Manager 9.x

> Unauthenticated attackers can gain administrator rights in McAfee Network Security Manager due to improper handling of expired GUI sessions.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 26 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g6rf-q96g-qx69

## What is CVE-2019-3597?

CVE-2019-3597 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in McAfee Network Security Manager (NSM), published on 26 Mar 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Authentication Bypass vulnerability in McAfee Network Security Manager (NSM) 9.1 < 9.1.7.75.2 and 9.2 < 9.2.7.31 (9.2 Update 2) allows unauthenticated users to gain administrator rights via incorrect handling of expired GUI sessions.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-3597?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mcafee Network Security Manager.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-3597?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-3597 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-3597 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-3597 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in McAfee Network Security Manager (NSM)

- [CVE-2017-3965](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3965/): SB10192 - Network Security Management (NSM) - Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (aka Session Riding) vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-3972](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3972/): SB10192 - Network Security Management (NSM) - Infrastructure-based foot printing vulnerability (high 8.3)
- [CVE-2017-3969](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3969/): SB10192 - Network Security Management (NSM) - Abuse of communication channels vulnerability (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2017-3971](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3971/): SB10192 - Network Security Management (NSM) - Cryptanalysis vulnerability (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2019-3606](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3606/): Data leakage when in an MDR pair by McAfee Network Security Manager 9.x (high 7.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-3597 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-3597 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in McAfee Network Security Manager (NSM), published on 26 Mar 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-3597 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: McAfee Network Security Manager (NSM). 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-2019-3597/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3597/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-3597
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-3597
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-3597

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3597/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.