CVE-2016-0893 in RSA Data Loss Prevention
Summary
by MITRE
EMC RSA Data Loss Prevention 9.6 before SP2 P5 allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive information by reading error messages.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/28/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0893 affects EMC RSA Data Loss Prevention version 9.6 prior to service pack 2 patch level 5, representing a significant information disclosure flaw that undermines the security posture of data loss prevention systems. This issue manifests through error message handling mechanisms that inadvertently expose sensitive system information to authenticated attackers who can leverage their credentials to access confidential data. The vulnerability resides in the application's error handling processes where insufficient sanitization of error messages allows attackers to extract system details that should remain protected from unauthorized access. The flaw specifically impacts the system's ability to properly manage error responses, creating an information disclosure channel that could reveal system internals, configuration details, or other sensitive data elements.
From a technical perspective, this vulnerability represents a classic example of improper error handling that falls under CWE-209, which addresses the exposure of error information to unauthorized parties. The flaw operates by allowing authenticated users to trigger specific error conditions within the application's processing pipeline, which then return detailed error messages containing sensitive information. Attackers can exploit this by crafting specific requests that cause the system to generate error responses, subsequently parsing these messages to extract system configurations, database information, or other confidential data elements. The vulnerability demonstrates poor input validation and error response management practices that violate fundamental security principles for protecting sensitive information during application runtime.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-0893 extends beyond simple information disclosure, potentially enabling more sophisticated attacks through reconnaissance phases. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can gather intelligence about the target system's architecture, software versions, and internal configurations that could facilitate subsequent attacks. This information disclosure capability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1082, which involves discovering system information through reconnaissance activities. The vulnerability essentially provides attackers with a foothold for deeper system exploration, potentially revealing database connection strings, file paths, system names, or other elements that could be leveraged in privilege escalation or lateral movement attacks. The authenticated nature of the attack means that attackers typically need valid credentials, but once obtained, they can systematically extract information that would normally remain hidden from unauthorized parties.
Organizations implementing EMC RSA Data Loss Prevention systems should prioritize immediate remediation through the application of service pack 2 patch level 5, which addresses this vulnerability by implementing proper error message sanitization and ensuring that sensitive information is not exposed through error responses. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive testing to verify that error messages no longer contain system-specific details, along with monitoring for any attempts to trigger the vulnerable error conditions. Security teams should also implement additional controls such as logging and alerting mechanisms to detect unusual patterns of error message access attempts, which could indicate exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and access control measures should be reinforced to limit the potential impact of credential compromise, while regular security assessments should verify that error handling mechanisms properly sanitize output to prevent similar information disclosure vulnerabilities from emerging in other components of the system. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of proper error handling practices in security-sensitive applications and the potential consequences of failing to adequately protect error information from unauthorized access.