CVE-2016-1992 in ArcSight ESM
Summary
by MITRE
HPE ArcSight ESM before 6.8c, and ArcSight ESM Express before 6.9.1, allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive information via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/10/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1992 affects HPE ArcSight Enterprise Security Manager and ArcSight ESM Express versions prior to 6.8c and 6.9.1 respectively. This security flaw represents a sensitive data exposure issue that enables remote authenticated attackers to access confidential information through unspecified vectors within the affected systems. The vulnerability exists within the enterprise security management platform that organizations use to monitor and analyze security events across their networks, making it a critical concern for cybersecurity operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls or improper information disclosure mechanisms within the ArcSight ESM software architecture. While the specific vectors remain unspecified in the CVE description, such vulnerabilities typically arise from inadequate input validation, improper privilege enforcement, or flawed session management within web applications. The affected versions likely contain code paths where authenticated users can leverage their access credentials to retrieve data that should be restricted to authorized personnel only, potentially including system configuration details, user information, or security event data that could reveal network architecture or security posture weaknesses.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can significantly compromise the security of organizations relying on ArcSight ESM for their security operations. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability could gain insights into network infrastructure, security monitoring configurations, and potentially sensitive user data that would normally be protected. This information could then be used to plan more sophisticated attacks or to understand the security controls in place within the target organization. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors do not require physical access to the network and can exploit the vulnerability from outside the organization's perimeter, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise security management systems that are often accessible over the internet.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to the patched versions of ArcSight ESM and ArcSight ESM Express as specified in the vendor advisories. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive vulnerability assessment to identify any potential exploitation attempts and monitoring of system logs for unusual access patterns. Security teams should also implement network segmentation to limit access to the ArcSight ESM systems and ensure that only authorized personnel have access to the platform. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses "Information Exposure," and could potentially be leveraged as part of broader attack strategies that map to multiple ATT&CK tactics including credential access and reconnaissance. The incident response plan should include procedures for handling potential information disclosure and conducting forensic analysis to determine if the vulnerability was exploited in the wild.