CVE-2016-0359 in WebSphere Application Server
Summary
by MITRE
CRLF injection vulnerability in IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) 7.0 before 7.0.0.43, 8.0 before 8.0.0.13, 8.5 Full before 8.5.5.10, and 8.5 Liberty before Liberty Fix Pack 16.0.0.2 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers and conduct HTTP response splitting attacks via a crafted URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/02/2024
The CVE-2016-0359 vulnerability represents a critical CRLF injection flaw within IBM WebSphere Application Server versions prior to specific patch levels. This vulnerability exists in multiple major release streams including WAS 7.0, 8.0, 8.5 Full, and Liberty profile versions, creating widespread exposure across enterprise deployments. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before processing HTTP requests, allowing malicious actors to inject carriage return line feed sequences into HTTP headers.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through crafted URLs that contain CRLF sequences, enabling attackers to manipulate HTTP response headers and inject malicious content. When the application server processes these malformed requests, it fails to properly escape or filter the injected characters, resulting in header injection that can lead to HTTP response splitting attacks. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-113, which specifically addresses improper neutralization of CRLF characters in HTTP headers, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190 for exploiting vulnerabilities in web applications. The injection can occur at multiple points within the HTTP request processing pipeline, particularly during URL parameter handling and header construction.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it enables attackers to perform various malicious activities including session hijacking, cross-site scripting attacks, and cache poisoning. An attacker could inject malicious headers to redirect users to phishing sites, manipulate browser behavior, or intercept sensitive session cookies. The HTTP response splitting capability allows for sophisticated attacks where multiple responses are sent to a client, potentially enabling man-in-the-middle attacks or bypassing security controls. This vulnerability particularly affects web applications that rely on proper header validation for security enforcement, creating opportunities for privilege escalation and unauthorized access to sensitive resources.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying the relevant IBM security patches for each affected version, implementing input validation controls at the application level, and configuring web application firewalls to detect and block CRLF injection attempts. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be enhanced to detect anomalous HTTP header patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of affected WebSphere installations and establish monitoring procedures to detect potential exploitation attempts. The remediation process should follow IBM's official security bulletins and include thorough testing to ensure that patch implementations do not introduce compatibility issues with existing applications.