CVE-2016-1194 in Garoon
Summary
by MITRE
Cybozu Garoon before 4.2.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/19/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1194 affects Cybozu Garoon versions prior to 4.2.1, representing a significant security weakness that enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks against affected systems. This vulnerability specifically targets the application's handling of certain input parameters or processing functions that fail to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied data. The flaw exists within the application's core processing logic where insufficient input validation allows malicious actors to craft specially crafted requests that trigger unexpected behavior in the application's execution flow. Such attacks can be particularly devastating in enterprise environments where Garoon serves as a critical collaboration platform for business operations and document management.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of resource allocation or processing functions within the Garoon application framework. Attackers can exploit this weakness by sending malformed or specially constructed requests to the application's web interface or API endpoints. The vulnerability typically manifests through memory exhaustion, infinite loop conditions, or other resource consumption patterns that cause the application to become unresponsive or crash entirely. This type of flaw aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes improper resource management and lack of input validation as primary contributors to denial of service conditions. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple service interruption as it can potentially disrupt business continuity and compromise the availability of critical collaboration services within organizations relying on Cybozu Garoon for their workflow automation and document sharing needs.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-1194 is substantial for organizations utilizing affected versions of Cybozu Garoon, as the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without requiring authentication or specialized privileges. This characteristic places organizations at risk of both intentional attacks and accidental system degradation through malformed input processing. The vulnerability can be leveraged by attackers to disrupt business operations, particularly during critical workflow periods when collaboration services are most essential. Organizations may experience complete service outages that affect employee productivity, document access, and collaborative work processes. The attack vector typically involves sending carefully crafted HTTP requests or API calls that exploit the application's resource handling mechanisms, potentially causing the application server to consume excessive CPU cycles or memory resources until the system becomes unresponsive. This vulnerability falls under the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and denial of service tactics, specifically targeting the availability aspect of the CIA triad.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to Cybozu Garoon version 4.2.1 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the vulnerability. Additionally, network-level protections such as intrusion prevention systems and web application firewalls can be configured to detect and block suspicious requests that match known patterns associated with this vulnerability. Regular security assessments and input validation reviews should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other applications within the organization's infrastructure. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the patch does not introduce compatibility issues with existing workflows or integrations. Organizations should also consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect unusual resource consumption patterns or service disruptions that may indicate exploitation attempts, enabling rapid response to potential attacks while maintaining operational continuity and protecting against unauthorized access to sensitive business data.