CVE-2016-0927 in Cloud Foundry Ops Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Pivotal Cloud Foundry (PCF) Ops Manager before 1.6.17 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/18/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0927 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within Pivotal Cloud Foundry Ops Manager versions prior to 1.6.17. This security weakness falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is one of the most prevalent and dangerous web application vulnerabilities. The vulnerability affects the operational management interface of PCF, which serves as the central control plane for deploying and managing cloud applications and services. The affected system operates as a sophisticated platform-as-a-service environment where administrators manage complex cloud infrastructures through a web-based user interface, making the XSS vulnerability particularly concerning for enterprise security.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the Ops Manager web application. Attackers can exploit unspecified vectors to inject malicious scripts or HTML content into the application's response handling mechanisms. These unspecified vectors typically involve user-controllable input fields within the web interface that do not properly sanitize or escape user-supplied data before rendering it back to the browser. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts within the context of other users' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized administrative actions. The attack surface includes any functionality that accepts user input and displays it without proper sanitization, particularly within the management console where sensitive operational data is handled.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to compromise the entire Cloud Foundry management infrastructure. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain access to administrative credentials, manipulate deployment configurations, or even escalate privileges within the platform. The exploitation could result in unauthorized access to production applications, data exfiltration, or complete compromise of the cloud environment. Given that Ops Manager serves as the control plane for cloud operations, this vulnerability essentially provides attackers with a foothold that could lead to widespread system compromise. The distributed nature of Cloud Foundry environments means that a successful exploitation could affect multiple applications and services running on the platform, making the potential impact significantly greater than typical web application vulnerabilities.
Organizations should immediately implement the remediation measures provided by Pivotal, specifically upgrading to Ops Manager version 1.6.17 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address this vulnerability. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be reviewed to limit exposure of the Ops Manager interface to trusted networks only. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts through unusual patterns in user input or unexpected script injections. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter, where attackers leverage XSS to execute malicious scripts in the context of the victim's browser. Organizations should also implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms, following secure coding practices such as those outlined in OWASP Top 10 and the CWE guidelines for preventing cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other components of the cloud infrastructure that may be vulnerable to similar attack vectors.