CVE-2016-1895 in Data Ontap
Summary
by MITRE
NetApp Data ONTAP before 8.2.5 and 8.3.x before 8.3.2P12 allow remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service via vectors related to unsafe user input string handling.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/12/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1895 affects NetApp Data ONTAP systems operating in versions prior to 8.2.5 and 8.3.x versions before 8.3.2P12. This issue represents a critical security flaw that enables remote authenticated attackers to execute denial of service attacks against affected systems. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the software's string handling processes, creating opportunities for malicious actors to exploit the system through carefully crafted user inputs.
The technical flaw manifests in the improper handling of user-supplied string data within the Data ONTAP infrastructure. When authenticated users submit malformed or specially constructed input strings to the system, the software fails to properly sanitize or validate these inputs before processing them. This unsafe input handling creates potential for buffer overflows, memory corruption, or other exploitable conditions that can cause the system to crash or become unresponsive. The vulnerability specifically targets the string processing components that handle user interactions within the storage management interfaces and protocols.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to enterprise storage environments that rely on NetApp Data ONTAP systems. The denial of service condition can result in complete system unavailability, disrupting critical data services and potentially affecting business operations across multiple departments. Organizations utilizing affected versions may experience extended downtime periods while system administrators work to restore services, leading to productivity losses and potential financial impacts. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors can exploit this vulnerability from outside the network perimeter, increasing the attack surface and reducing the effectiveness of traditional network security controls.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which covers heap-based buffer overflow scenarios. These classifications indicate that the flaw involves improper handling of memory allocation and string processing that can lead to system instability and potential privilege escalation. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks, and T1070.006, which involves manipulation of files and system processes. Organizations should prioritize patching affected systems to prevent exploitation, implementing network segmentation to limit attack vectors, and establishing monitoring procedures to detect potential exploitation attempts. The recommended remediation involves upgrading to NetApp Data ONTAP versions 8.2.5 or 8.3.2P12 and subsequent releases that contain the necessary input validation fixes. Additionally, implementing proper input sanitization controls and regular security assessments can help mitigate similar vulnerabilities in other components of the storage infrastructure.