PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief
CVE-2016-5803 Ca Technologies CVE debrief
CVE-2016-5803 affects CA Unified Infrastructure Management version 8.47 and earlier. NVD describes a path traversal weakness where external input is used to build a pathname without properly neutralizing ".." sequences, allowing access outside a restricted directory. The issue is network exploitable without authentication and is scored 8.6 (HIGH) by NVD.
- Vendor
- Ca Technologies
- Product
- Unified Infrastructure Management
- CVSS
- HIGH 8.6
- CISA KEV
- Not listed in stored evidence
- Original CVE published
- 2016-08-14
- Original CVE updated
- 2025-06-05
- Advisory published
- 2016-08-14
- Advisory updated
- 2025-06-05
Who should care
Administrators, vulnerability management teams, and SOC/incident response staff responsible for CA Unified Infrastructure Management deployments at version 8.47 or earlier.
Technical summary
NVD maps this issue to CWE-22 (Path Traversal). The vulnerability is exposed over the network with no privileges or user interaction required (CVSS: AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L). According to the supplied NVD record, affected versions extend through 8.47. The core problem is unsafe pathname construction from external input, which can permit traversal outside the intended directory boundary.
Defensive priority
High. This is an unauthenticated, network-reachable path traversal issue with high confidentiality impact, so exposed CA UIM instances should be prioritized for patching or mitigation ahead of lower-severity issues.
Recommended defensive actions
- Apply the vendor remediation guidance from the CA security notice and the corresponding ICS-CERT advisory for CA Unified Infrastructure Management.
- Upgrade or replace any CA Unified Infrastructure Management deployment running version 8.47 or earlier.
- Restrict network access to the management interface until remediation is complete, especially from untrusted or broadly reachable networks.
- Review file access, application, and web logs for unexpected path patterns or attempts to reference parent-directory sequences such as "..".
- Validate that any local compensating controls still prevent directory traversal after remediation, including input handling and path normalization checks.
Evidence notes
The supplied NVD record lists CVE-2016-5803 as published on 2017-02-13 and modified on 2026-05-13. It identifies CA Technologies Unified Infrastructure Management versions through 8.47 as vulnerable, assigns CWE-22, and gives CVSS v3.0 vector CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L. Supporting references in the source corpus include the ICS-CERT advisory, the SecurityFocus BID entry, and the CA security notice.
Sources and references
Verified primary and authoritative sources
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CVE-2016-5803 CVE Program record
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified
URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-5803
CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.
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CVE-2016-5803 NVD vulnerability detail
Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified
URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5803
NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.
Supplemental references
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Mitigation or vendor reference
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-16-315-01
[email protected] - Mitigation, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource
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Source reference
Unverified legacy reference
URL: https://www.ca.com/us/services-support/ca-support/ca-support-online/product-content/recommended-reading/security-notices/ca20161109-01-security-notice-for-ca-unified-infrastructure-mgmt.html
Methodology and review provenance
AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.