CVE-2016-0247 in Security Guardium
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Security Guardium 8.2 before p310, 9.x through 9.5 before p700, and 10.x through 10.1 before p100 allows local users to obtain sensitive cleartext information via unspecified vectors, as demonstrated by password information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/15/2019
IBM Security Guardium represents a comprehensive database activity monitoring solution designed to protect sensitive data through advanced threat detection and compliance monitoring capabilities. The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0247 affects multiple versions of this security product, specifically targeting the 8.2 release before patch 310, 9.x versions through 9.5 before patch 700, and 10.x versions through 10.1 before patch 100. This vulnerability manifests as a local information disclosure issue that exposes cleartext sensitive data, with password information serving as the primary demonstrated attack vector.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input validation and inadequate data sanitization mechanisms within the Guardium application runtime environment. Local attackers with system-level access can exploit unspecified vectors to extract sensitive cleartext information from memory structures or process tables where authentication credentials and other confidential data are stored. This vulnerability operates at the application level and leverages the elevated privileges of local users to access data that should remain protected within the system's secure boundaries. The issue demonstrates poor separation of concerns and inadequate protection of sensitive data elements within the application's memory management architecture.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential exposure, potentially enabling attackers to gain deeper system access and escalate privileges within the database monitoring environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could obtain database connection credentials, administrative passwords, and other sensitive authentication information that would allow them to compromise the entire Guardium deployment. This creates a significant risk for organizations relying on Guardium for database security monitoring, as the compromise of the monitoring system itself could provide attackers with visibility into all monitored database activities and potentially bypass other security controls. The vulnerability's presence in multiple major versions indicates a systemic weakness in the application's security design that affects a broad user base.
Organizations should immediately implement the vendor-provided patches for all affected versions of IBM Security Guardium to remediate this vulnerability. System administrators should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and monitor for unusual local access patterns that might indicate exploitation. Additional mitigations include implementing strict access controls for local system accounts, regularly reviewing user permissions, and ensuring that only authorized personnel have local access to Guardium systems. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which describes improper exposure of sensitive information, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege in information security. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving credential access and privilege escalation, potentially enabling lateral movement within the database security infrastructure and compromising the integrity of the monitoring environment itself.