CVE-2014-2882 in Netscaler
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the management GUI in Citrix NetScaler Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and NetScaler Gateway before 9.3-66.5 and 10.x before 10.1-122.17 has unspecified impact and vectors, related to certificate validation.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/12/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-2882 affects Citrix NetScaler Application Delivery Controller and NetScaler Gateway appliances, specifically targeting their management graphical user interfaces. This issue represents a significant security weakness in the certificate validation mechanisms that govern how these critical network infrastructure devices handle secure communications. The vulnerability exists in versions prior to 9.3-66.5 for the ADC platform and 10.1-122.17 for the Gateway platform, indicating that organizations running these older software versions remain exposed to potential exploitation.
The technical flaw manifests in the certificate validation process within the management GUI components of these appliances. While the exact nature of the vulnerability remains unspecified in the initial description, such certificate validation weaknesses typically involve improper handling of SSL/TLS certificates, including inadequate validation of certificate chains, missing certificate revocation checks, or flawed trust model implementations. The vulnerability allows for potential man-in-the-middle attacks where an attacker could potentially intercept or manipulate secure communications between administrators and the appliance management interfaces.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple network security concerns, as it directly threatens the integrity and confidentiality of administrative operations within critical network infrastructure. Organizations relying on these appliances for application delivery and secure access face potential exposure to unauthorized administrative access, which could lead to complete compromise of the appliance and potentially broader network infiltration. The unspecified impact and vectors suggest that the vulnerability could be exploited through multiple attack paths, making it particularly dangerous as attackers could leverage various methods to exploit the certificate validation weakness.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-295, which addresses improper certificate validation, and could potentially map to ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol: DNS, particularly if certificate validation failures enable DNS tunneling or other protocol manipulation attacks. The vulnerability's presence in management interfaces makes it especially concerning as it could allow attackers to gain administrative privileges without requiring physical access or complex credential compromise techniques.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to the patched versions mentioned in the CVE description, specifically versions 9.3-66.5 for ADC and 10.1-122.17 for Gateway platforms. Additionally, network segmentation and monitoring of management interface communications should be implemented as temporary mitigations while upgrades are pending. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts or unauthorized access that may have occurred during the period when systems were vulnerable to this certificate validation flaw.