CVE-2016-0236 in Security Guardium Database Activity Monitor
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Security Guardium Database Activity Monitor 8.2 before p310, 9.x through 9.5 before p700, and 10.x through 10.1 before p100 allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges via the search field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/15/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0236 represents a critical command injection flaw within IBM Security Guardium Database Activity Monitor software across multiple version ranges including 8.2 before p310, 9.x through 9.5 before p700, and 10.x through 10.1 before p100. This security weakness specifically affects the application's handling of user input in the search functionality, creating an avenue for remote authenticated attackers to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary commands with root-level access. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly filter or escape user-supplied data before processing, allowing malicious payloads to be interpreted and executed by the underlying system.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the search field functionality which processes user input without adequate sanitization measures. When authenticated users submit specially crafted input through the search interface, the application fails to properly validate or escape the input parameters, enabling attackers to inject command sequences that are subsequently executed with the privileges of the running application process. This command injection vulnerability directly maps to CWE-77, which specifically addresses the execution of command-line commands through untrusted inputs. The attack vector requires remote access with valid authentication credentials, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by attackers who have already gained access to legitimate user accounts within the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with complete control over the affected system. With root privileges, an attacker can modify system configurations, install malicious software, access sensitive data, and potentially compromise the entire database environment monitored by Guardium. The vulnerability affects database activity monitoring capabilities which are critical for security operations, meaning that successful exploitation could allow attackers to bypass security controls and hide their activities from detection systems. This creates a particularly dangerous scenario where an attacker can not only execute commands but also potentially disable or manipulate the very security tools designed to monitor and protect the system. The vulnerability's presence in multiple major versions of the software indicates a widespread exposure across organizations relying on IBM Security Guardium for database security monitoring.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates, implementing network segmentation to limit access to the Guardium system, and monitoring for suspicious search activities or command execution patterns. The recommended approach involves applying the specific fixes provided by IBM for versions 8.2 p310, 9.x p700, and 10.x p100, which address the input validation issues in the search functionality. Additionally, implementing web application firewalls and input validation controls can provide additional layers of protection. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques such as command injection and privilege escalation, and organizations should consider the implications for their defensive strategies and incident response procedures. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and proper sanitization in preventing command injection attacks, particularly in security monitoring tools that handle sensitive data and require elevated privileges to function properly.