CVE-2016-0241 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 spoof administrator accounts by sending a modified login request over HTTP.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/15/2019
IBM Security Guardium Database Activity Monitor represents a critical database security solution designed to monitor and protect database activities across enterprise environments. The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0241 specifically targets the authentication mechanisms within versions 8.2 prior to p310, 9.x through 9.5 prior to p700, and 10.x through 10.1 prior to p100 of this security product. This flaw resides in the HTTP-based authentication processing where the system fails to properly validate the integrity of login requests, creating a path for malicious actors to manipulate authentication tokens and credentials.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and authentication token handling within the web interface components of Guardium. When authenticated users submit login requests over HTTP, the system does not adequately verify the authenticity of the request parameters, allowing attackers to modify the authentication payload to impersonate administrator accounts. This type of vulnerability maps directly to CWE-345 Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity, which addresses the lack of proper validation mechanisms for user-provided data. The flaw essentially creates a session manipulation attack vector where an attacker can alter the administrative privileges associated with their authenticated session.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it directly compromises the integrity of the entire database security monitoring infrastructure. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can gain administrative access to Guardium's management console, potentially allowing them to modify database monitoring rules, disable security alerts, access sensitive configuration data, or even manipulate the monitoring capabilities to hide malicious database activities. This compromise undermines the fundamental security posture that Guardium is designed to provide, as it allows attackers to bypass the very protections the system is meant to enforce. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on Guardium for database activity monitoring, potentially exposing critical database environments to unauthorized access and data exfiltration attempts.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to patched versions of IBM Security Guardium where available, implementing network segmentation to isolate the Guardium management interfaces, and deploying additional authentication layers such as multi-factor authentication for administrative access. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1550 Lateral Movement and T1078 Valid Accounts, as it enables attackers to leverage legitimate administrative credentials to maintain persistent access. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their database monitoring infrastructure to identify similar authentication weaknesses in other security tools and implement proper input validation and request integrity checks across all web-based administrative interfaces. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous authentication patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, and access controls should be reviewed to ensure least privilege principles are maintained even when administrative accounts are compromised.