By default, the ANSYS Remote Solve Manager (RSM) web dashboard binds to 0.0.0.0 on TCP port 8080 and does not enforce authentication unless explicitly configured for Basic Auth or Windows Active Directory. This means that any host capable of routing to the RSM server on port 8080 can view job statuses and queue information without a login prompt.
Verifying Network Binding and Exposure
To determine if the listener is bound to all interfaces and accessible externally without altering the service configuration, use the following verification steps:
1. Check Local Bind Address
Run the following command on the RSM host to see which IP addresses are listening on port 8080:
# Windows
netstat -an | findstr :8080
# Linux
ss -ltnp | grep :8080
Interpretation: If the local address is 0.0.0.0:8080, the service is listening on all available network interfaces. If it is 127.0.0.1:8080, it is restricted to the local loopback and is not externally reachable.
2. Test External Reachability
From a machine outside the intended trusted subnet, attempt to fetch the dashboard header using curl:
curl -I http://<rsm-host-ip>:8080/rsm/
Interpretation: A HTTP/1.1 200 OK response indicates the dashboard is exposed and unauthenticated. A 401 Unauthorized or 403 Forbidden suggests authentication is active or a firewall is blocking the request.
Indicators of Unintentional Exposure
The following signs suggest the web interface is exposed to unauthorized users:
- Configuration State: The
rsm.conf file contains authentication.enabled=false or lacks a defined authentication provider.
- Log Evidence: The
jetty.log or rsm.log shows Started ServerConnector...{0.0.0.0:8080} during startup.
- Network Path: Perimeter firewalls or host-based firewalls (Windows Firewall/iptables) have inbound rules allowing TCP 8080 from source ranges broader than the engineering VLAN.
- Anonymous Traffic: Web logs show HTTP GET requests to
/rsm/ or /dashboard/ endpoints from unknown external IP addresses.
Note: To provide a more specific remediation path, please specify the exact version of ANSYS RSM in use, as default security postures may vary between releases.
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