CVE-2016-0202 in Cloud Orchestrator
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability has been identified in tasks, backend object generated for handling any action performed by the application in IBM Cloud Orchestrator. It is possible for an authenticated user to view any task of the current users domain.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/09/2017
The vulnerability identified in IBM Cloud Orchestrator under CVE-2016-0202 represents a critical access control flaw that undermines the security boundaries of the platform's task management system. This issue affects the backend object responsible for handling application actions and operations within the cloud orchestration environment. The vulnerability stems from insufficient authorization checks within the task handling mechanism, allowing authenticated users to bypass normal access restrictions and retrieve task information that should be confined to their own domain or user context. Such a flaw directly violates fundamental security principles of least privilege and principle of least authority that are essential for maintaining data isolation and confidentiality in multi-tenant cloud environments.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs at the backend object level where task data is generated and managed for application actions. When users perform operations within IBM Cloud Orchestrator, the system creates backend task objects that contain sensitive operational information and metadata. The flaw exists in the authorization logic that governs access to these task objects, specifically failing to properly validate whether an authenticated user has legitimate access to view tasks belonging to other users within the same domain. This misconfiguration allows an attacker with valid credentials to enumerate and access task records that should remain private to their respective user accounts, potentially exposing operational details, execution parameters, and other sensitive information that could aid in further exploitation or reconnaissance activities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it creates a pathway for potential privilege escalation and lateral movement within the cloud orchestration environment. An authenticated user could leverage this vulnerability to gather intelligence about other users' activities, understand system behavior patterns, and identify potential targets for additional attacks. The affected domain scope suggests that this vulnerability impacts users sharing the same administrative domain or tenant space, which could compromise the multi-tenancy model that IBM Cloud Orchestrator relies upon for security isolation. This weakness particularly affects organizations that depend on Cloud Orchestrator for managing complex orchestration workflows, where task visibility could expose sensitive business processes, system configurations, or operational procedures that should remain confidential.
Security controls and mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust access control mechanisms at the backend object level, ensuring that all task-related operations include proper authorization checks before data disclosure occurs. Organizations should enforce strict role-based access controls where users can only access tasks associated with their own account or explicitly authorized groups. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285 which addresses improper authorization in software systems, and represents a clear violation of the principle that access to sensitive data should be controlled based on user identity and permissions rather than simply authentication status. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques and information gathering activities that adversaries might use to understand system architecture and identify potential attack vectors within the orchestration platform. Organizations should implement comprehensive logging and monitoring of task access patterns to detect anomalous behavior and ensure that access controls are properly enforced across all backend components handling user-generated tasks and operations.