CVE-2016-1145 in EXPRESSCLUSTER X
Summary
by MITRE
Directory traversal vulnerability in WebManager in NEC EXPRESSCLUSTER X through 3.3 11.31 on Windows and through 3.3 3.3.1-1 on Linux and Solaris allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via unspecified vectors.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/11/2018
The CVE-2016-1145 vulnerability represents a critical directory traversal flaw within the WebManager component of NEC EXPRESSCLUSTER X software across multiple operating systems. This vulnerability affects versions through 3.3 11.31 on Windows platforms and through 3.3 3.3.1-1 on Linux and Solaris systems, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on this cluster management solution. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before processing file system requests through the web interface.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows remote attackers to exploit unspecified vectors within the WebManager functionality to access arbitrary files on the underlying operating system. This directory traversal capability enables attackers to bypass normal access controls and potentially read sensitive configuration files, authentication credentials, system logs, and other confidential data stored within the cluster environment. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the web-based management interface, making it accessible over network connections without requiring local system access or authentication.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses severe risks to enterprise environments utilizing NEC EXPRESSCLUSTER X for high availability and clustering services. Attackers could potentially extract system configuration details, service account credentials, and other sensitive information that could lead to further compromise of the cluster infrastructure. The remote exploitability means that adversaries need only access to the network to attempt exploitation, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where the WebManager interface is exposed to untrusted networks or the internet.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates released for this vulnerability, restricting network access to the WebManager interface through firewall rules, and implementing network segmentation to limit exposure. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-22, which categorizes directory traversal attacks as a common weakness in software design that allows attackers to access files outside the intended directory scope. Additionally, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1083, which covers discovery of file and directory permissions, as attackers could use this vulnerability to enumerate system files and gather intelligence about the target environment. Security monitoring should focus on unusual file access patterns and unauthorized attempts to access system resources through the web interface, while also implementing proper input validation and output encoding to prevent similar vulnerabilities in custom applications.