CVE-2016-0246 in Security Guardium
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Security Guardium 8.2 before p310, 9.x through 9.5 before p700, and 10.x through 10.1 before p100 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/15/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0246 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM Security Guardium software versions 8.2 before p310, 9.x through 9.5 before p700, and 10.x through 10.1 before p100. This vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79, which specifically addresses improper neutralization of input during web page generation, making it a classic XSS attack vector. The flaw exists in the web-based administrative interface of Guardium, which is designed to monitor and protect database environments through comprehensive security analytics and compliance reporting capabilities.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through crafted URL parameters that are not properly sanitized or validated before being rendered in web responses. When an attacker constructs a malicious URL containing script code within parameters, and a victim with appropriate privileges accesses this URL, the malicious code executes within the victim's browser context. This occurs because the application fails to implement proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms for URL parameters, allowing attacker-controlled data to be interpreted as executable JavaScript code rather than simple data. The vulnerability specifically affects the web interface components that process user-supplied input without adequate sanitization, creating a persistent attack surface that can be leveraged by remote threat actors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, particularly given that IBM Security Guardium is deployed in enterprise environments where it serves as a critical security monitoring tool. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain unauthorized access to administrative functions, potentially leading to complete compromise of the security monitoring infrastructure. The attack could result in data exfiltration from the Guardium environment, modification of security policies, or the installation of persistent backdoors within the monitoring system. Additionally, since Guardium typically operates in highly sensitive environments with access to critical database information, the compromise of its web interface could provide attackers with a foothold for further lateral movement within the enterprise network. The vulnerability also poses significant compliance risks as it could be exploited to manipulate security reporting and monitoring data, potentially masking malicious activities.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates, implementing web application firewalls to filter malicious URL parameters, and conducting comprehensive security assessments of their Guardium deployments. The mitigation strategies should include input validation controls, output encoding mechanisms, and regular security testing of the web interface components. Security teams should also consider network segmentation to limit access to the Guardium administrative interfaces and implement monitoring solutions to detect anomalous access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. From a defensive perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers social engineering through malicious web content, and T1071.004, which involves application layer protocol usage for command and control communications. The remediation process should involve thorough testing of patches to ensure compatibility with existing Guardium configurations while maintaining the security posture of the overall database security infrastructure.