CVE-2016-0400 in WebSphere eXtreme Scale
Summary
by MITRE
CRLF injection vulnerability in IBM WebSphere eXtreme Scale 7.1.0 before 7.1.0.3, 7.1.1 before 7.1.1.1, 8.5 before 8.5.0.3, and 8.6 before 8.6.0.8 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 • 05/31/2025
The CVE-2016-0400 vulnerability represents a critical CRLF injection flaw in IBM WebSphere eXtreme Scale versions prior to specific patch releases. This vulnerability exists within the web application framework's handling of HTTP requests and responses, specifically affecting the 7.1.0 and 7.1.1 series up to 7.1.0.2 and 7.1.1.0 respectively, as well as the 8.5 and 8.6 series up to 8.5.0.2 and 8.6.0.7 respectively. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization of user-supplied URL parameters that are processed within the web container's HTTP response handling mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the fundamental weakness in how the application processes user input that contains carriage return line feed sequences. When a malicious user crafts a URL containing CRLF characters within parameters or path elements, the web server fails to properly sanitize these inputs before incorporating them into HTTP response headers. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers into the response stream, effectively enabling HTTP response splitting attacks. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-110, which specifically addresses CRLF injection in HTTP headers, making it a direct descendant of the well-known HTTP response splitting attack vectors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, as it provides attackers with the capability to manipulate HTTP responses in ways that can lead to various sophisticated attacks. An attacker can inject malicious headers such as Set-Cookie, Location, or Content-Type to redirect users to malicious sites, inject session cookies for session hijacking, or manipulate content disposition headers to force downloads of malicious payloads. The HTTP response splitting aspect allows for the creation of multiple HTTP responses within a single connection, potentially enabling cache poisoning attacks or cross-site scripting vector exploitation. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application, and T1566 - Phishing, as it can be leveraged for crafting malicious web responses that trick users into executing unintended actions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected IBM WebSphere eXtreme Scale installations to the recommended versions that contain the necessary security fixes. Organizations should also implement input validation at multiple layers including application firewalls, web application firewalls, and proxy servers to sanitize URL parameters before they reach the vulnerable application. Network segmentation and access controls should be enforced to limit exposure of the vulnerable components to untrusted networks. Additionally, security monitoring should be enhanced to detect anomalous HTTP header injection patterns in web logs, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the web application stack. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input sanitization and the potential for seemingly simple injection flaws to enable complex attack chains that can compromise entire web applications and user sessions.