CVE-2016-0310 in Connections
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Connections 5.5 and earlier is vulnerable to possible host header injection attack that could cause navigation to the attacker's domain.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/12/2020
IBM Connections 5.5 and earlier versions contain a host header injection vulnerability that represents a significant security risk to organizations relying on the platform for collaboration and social business functions. This vulnerability falls under the category of web application security flaws that can be exploited to manipulate HTTP headers and redirect user navigation. The issue stems from insufficient validation of host headers within the application's response handling mechanisms, allowing malicious actors to inject arbitrary host values into HTTP responses.
The technical flaw manifests when the application fails to properly sanitize or validate host header inputs received from client requests. During the processing of HTTP requests, IBM Connections may incorporate user-supplied host header values directly into response headers without adequate validation checks. This creates an opportunity for attackers to manipulate the Host header field in HTTP requests to point to malicious domains, potentially leading to session hijacking, cross-site scripting attacks, or phishing attempts. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through various attack vectors including social engineering, where users might be tricked into clicking on malicious links that appear to originate from legitimate IBM Connections domains.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability compromises the integrity of user navigation and can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive collaboration data within IBM Connections environments. Attackers leveraging this flaw could redirect users to malicious domains while maintaining the appearance of legitimate IBM Connections interfaces, potentially capturing credentials or sensitive information shared within the collaboration platform. The vulnerability affects organizations using IBM Connections 5.5 and earlier versions, which may include enterprises with extensive social business infrastructure relying on the platform for document sharing, social networking, and collaborative workspaces. This represents a critical risk to corporate security posture, especially in environments where IBM Connections serves as a central hub for business communications and file sharing.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to IBM Connections 6.0 or later versions where this vulnerability has been addressed through proper host header validation mechanisms. Additionally, network-level protections such as HTTP header sanitization rules and web application firewalls should be configured to filter out suspicious host header values. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-16 Configuration and CWE-20 Improper Input Validation categories, and can be mapped to ATT&CK techniques including T1566 Phishing and T1071.004 Application Layer Protocol. Administrators should also review and enforce strict access controls, implement multi-factor authentication, and conduct regular security assessments of their collaboration platforms to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities. Organizations should consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect anomalous host header behavior and establish incident response procedures for handling potential exploitation attempts.