CVE-2016-1993 in System Management Homepage
Summary
by MITRE
HPE System Management Homepage before 7.5.4 allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive information or modify data via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/10/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-1993 affects HPE System Management Homepage versions prior to 7.5.4, representing a significant security weakness in enterprise system management software. This issue falls under the category of information disclosure and data modification vulnerabilities, which can have severe implications for organizations relying on HPE's system management solutions. The vulnerability exists in the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the web-based management interface, creating opportunities for malicious actors to exploit weaknesses in the software's security model. Organizations utilizing affected versions of HPE System Management Homepage face potential exposure to unauthorized access to critical system information and modification of sensitive data through unspecified attack vectors that leverage authenticated user sessions.
The technical flaw manifests in the improper handling of user permissions and session management within the HPE System Management Homepage application. Attackers with valid authentication credentials can potentially escalate their privileges or exploit weaknesses in the application's access control mechanisms to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system information or modify data within the managed environment. This vulnerability demonstrates a failure in implementing proper input validation and access control checks, which are fundamental security principles that should be enforced at multiple layers of the application architecture. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple pathways exist for exploitation, potentially including cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, insecure direct object references, or other authorization bypass techniques that allow authenticated users to perform actions beyond their intended permissions. Such weaknesses often stem from inadequate security testing and code review processes during the software development lifecycle, particularly in web applications that handle sensitive administrative functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it can enable attackers to compromise the integrity and confidentiality of system management operations. Organizations may experience unauthorized modification of system configurations, access to sensitive operational data, or potential disruption of management functions that could affect system availability and reliability. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of HPE System Management Homepage, which is designed to provide centralized management of HPE infrastructure components, making it a critical target for attackers seeking to compromise enterprise IT environments. This weakness can facilitate broader attacks within the network infrastructure, as system management interfaces often serve as gateways to critical system components and can provide attackers with elevated privileges to manipulate underlying hardware and software configurations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-1993 should prioritize immediate upgrade to HPE System Management Homepage version 7.5.4 or later, which contains patches addressing the identified security weaknesses. Organizations should implement comprehensive network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of the management interface to trusted networks only, while ensuring that authentication mechanisms are properly configured with strong password policies and multi-factor authentication where possible. Security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual access patterns or unauthorized modifications to system configurations, with particular attention to the web application logs and session management activities. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and may involve elements of CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) in its exploitation, representing a classic example of how insufficient access controls can lead to privilege escalation and unauthorized data manipulation. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments of their HPE management environments and implement the principle of least privilege to minimize potential damage from similar vulnerabilities in the future.