CVE-2016-0335 in Security Identity Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in IBM Security Identity Manager (ISIM) Virtual Appliance 7.0.0.0 through 7.0.1.0 before 7.0.1-ISS-SIM-FP0001 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of users for requests that have unspecified impact via unknown vectors. IBM X-Force ID: 111736.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/30/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0335 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within IBM Security Identity Manager Virtual Appliance versions 7.0.0.0 through 7.0.1.0 prior to the 7.0.1-ISS-SIM-FP0001 patch release. This CSRF vulnerability exposes the system to remote exploitation where attackers can manipulate authenticated sessions without user knowledge or consent, effectively hijacking user authentication tokens to execute unauthorized operations against the targeted appliance. The unspecified impact vectors indicate that the vulnerability could potentially enable various malicious actions including but not limited to privilege escalation, data manipulation, or unauthorized access to sensitive identity management functions. The vulnerability affects the virtual appliance implementation of IBM Security Identity Manager, which is designed to manage identity provisioning and access control within enterprise environments.
The technical exploitation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of web requests that are automatically executed in the context of an authenticated user session. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or send specially crafted requests that, when visited or executed by a victim user, will perform actions within the ISIM appliance without the user's knowledge or authorization. This occurs because the appliance fails to properly validate the origin of requests or implement adequate anti-CSRF mechanisms such as synchronizer tokens or referer header validation. The vulnerability specifically targets the authentication context within the virtual appliance environment, allowing attackers to leverage existing user sessions to perform operations that should require explicit user consent or additional authentication factors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential compromise of entire identity management systems within organizations. When exploited successfully, the vulnerability could enable attackers to modify user accounts, manipulate access permissions, or perform administrative functions that could severely impact organizational security posture. The virtual appliance environment typically serves as a central hub for identity provisioning and access control, making successful exploitation particularly dangerous as it could allow attackers to establish persistent access to critical identity infrastructure. Organizations relying on ISIM for user provisioning, authentication, or access management could face significant security implications including unauthorized privilege escalation, data exfiltration, or complete compromise of their identity management ecosystem.
Organizations should implement multiple layers of defense to mitigate this CSRF vulnerability including immediate patching to the 7.0.1-ISS-SIM-FP0001 release or higher, which addresses the specific anti-CSRF mechanisms. Network segmentation and web application firewalls should be configured to monitor and filter suspicious requests targeting the ISIM appliance. Additionally, implementing proper session management practices including secure cookie attributes, regular session token rotation, and origin validation checks would significantly reduce exploitation risk. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery flaws in web applications. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving session management manipulation and credential access through web application exploitation, potentially enabling later stages of the attack chain including privilege escalation and persistence within the identity management infrastructure. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to ensure proper implementation of CSRF protections and to verify that all related components within the ISIM environment maintain appropriate security controls.