HPE iMC Authentication Bypass Vulnerability Rated Critical by NVD

The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) has published a record for CVE-2026-79842, a critical authentication bypass vulnerability affecting Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Intelligent Management Center (iMC). The flaw allows unauthorized access to the management platform in versions prior to 7.3 E0713.

According to the NVD record, the vulnerability enables an attacker to bypass authentication mechanisms within the HPE iMC application. The National Vulnerability Database assigns the flaw a CVSS score of 9.1, classifying it as critical. This high severity rating reflects the potential for an attacker to gain unauthorized access to the system without valid credentials, compromising the integrity and confidentiality of the managed network infrastructure.

Context and Background

HPE Intelligent Management Center is a network management platform designed to provide visibility and control over complex enterprise networks. Authentication bypass vulnerabilities in such platforms are particularly dangerous because they often serve as the primary gateway for administrative functions. If an attacker can bypass the login process, they may gain full administrative privileges, allowing them to modify network configurations, intercept traffic, or deploy additional malware within the environment.

The NVD description identifies the specific weakness as an authentication bypass. While the record does not provide technical details on the specific code path or request manipulation required to exploit the flaw, the classification indicates that the application fails to properly verify user credentials under certain conditions. The assignment of a CVSS score of 9.1 suggests that the exploitability is high and the impact on the system is severe.

Who Is Affected

The vulnerability affects all installations of HPE Intelligent Management Center running versions prior to 7.3 E0713. Organizations that have not updated their iMC instances to version 7.3 E0713 or later are potentially exposed to this risk. The NVD record explicitly states that versions before 7.3 E0713 are affected, leaving no ambiguity regarding the scope of the impacted software releases.

Enterprises relying on HPE iMC for network monitoring and management should immediately verify their current software versions. If an organization is running a version older than 7.3 E0713, it is considered vulnerable to CVE-2026-79842. The broad nature of the version range means that many legacy deployments may still be at risk if they have not recently upgraded their management infrastructure.

What should you do?

The NVD record indicates that the vulnerability exists in versions prior to 7.3 E0713. This implies that version 7.3 E0713 and subsequent releases address the issue. Organizations should check their current iMC version and compare it against the affected range. If the installed version is older than 7.3 E0713, upgrading to the latest available version is the recommended remediation step to mitigate the risk.