CVE-2016-1595 in Novell Service Desk
Summary
by MITRE
LiveTime/WebObjects/LiveTime.woa/wa/DownloadAction/downloadFile in Micro Focus Novell Service Desk before 7.2 allows remote authenticated users to conduct Hibernate Query Language (HQL) injection attacks and obtain sensitive information via the entityName parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/31/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1595 affects Micro Focus Novell Service Desk versions prior to 7.2, specifically within the LiveTime/WebObjects/LiveTime.woa/wa/DownloadAction/downloadFile component. This issue represents a critical security flaw that enables remote authenticated attackers to execute Hibernate Query Language injection attacks through manipulation of the entityName parameter. The vulnerability resides in the application's handling of user-supplied input within the Hibernate persistence layer, creating a direct pathway for attackers to bypass normal access controls and extract sensitive data from the underlying database.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the entityName parameter processing. When authenticated users submit requests containing maliciously crafted entityName values, the application fails to properly escape or validate these inputs before incorporating them into Hibernate queries. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary HQL commands that can traverse the database schema, potentially accessing unauthorized tables, views, or stored procedures. The vulnerability specifically targets the Hibernate framework's query execution mechanism, where user-controllable parameters are directly concatenated into query strings without appropriate parameterization or input filtering.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-1595 extends beyond simple data theft, as it provides attackers with the capability to perform extensive reconnaissance and data exfiltration activities. Successful exploitation can result in unauthorized access to sensitive organizational information including user credentials, service desk tickets, configuration data, and business-critical records stored within the Novell Service Desk database. The authenticated nature of the attack means that attackers must first obtain valid credentials, but once achieved, they can leverage this vulnerability to escalate their privileges and access data beyond their normal operational boundaries. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-94, which describes improper control of generation of code, and specifically relates to the improper neutralization of special elements used in HQL queries.
Organizations utilizing affected Novell Service Desk versions face significant security risks, as this vulnerability can be exploited by both internal malicious actors and external attackers who have gained legitimate credentials through social engineering, credential theft, or other means. The attack vector requires only a valid authenticated session, making it particularly dangerous in environments where privileged accounts are compromised. The vulnerability demonstrates weaknesses in the application's defense-in-depth approach, where proper input validation should have been implemented at multiple layers of the application stack. Security professionals should consider this issue in relation to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1005 for data from local systems, as it enables attackers to leverage legitimate access for unauthorized data extraction.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-1595 should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to version 7.2 or later, where Micro Focus has implemented proper input validation and parameterization of Hibernate queries. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit the scope of potential exploitation, ensuring that only authorized users have access to the vulnerable components. Additionally, security teams should conduct thorough code reviews to identify similar patterns in other applications that might be susceptible to HQL injection attacks. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to detect and remediate similar issues in the broader application ecosystem. The implementation of proper input validation frameworks and the adoption of parameterized queries should become standard practices across all database interaction components to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future development cycles.