CVE-2016-2014 in Network Node Manager i
Summary
by MITRE
HPE Network Node Manager i (NNMi) 9.20, 9.23, 9.24, 9.25, 10.00, and 10.01 allows remote authenticated users to modify data or cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/30/2022
HPE Network Node Manager i (NNMi) versions 9.20 through 10.01 contain a vulnerability that enables remote authenticated attackers to perform unauthorized data modification or cause denial of service conditions through unspecified attack vectors. This vulnerability represents a significant security risk within network management infrastructure, particularly affecting organizations that rely on HPE's network monitoring solutions for critical infrastructure operations. The affected versions span multiple release branches, indicating this flaw has persisted across several iterations of the software, suggesting potential architectural issues or inadequate security testing during development cycles. The vulnerability's classification as remote authenticated indicates that attackers do not require local system access but can exploit the flaw from external networks while possessing valid credentials, which significantly expands the attack surface and reduces the barrier to exploitation.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the NNMi application framework. While the specific attack vectors remain unspecified in the CVE description, such vulnerabilities typically arise from improper sanitization of user inputs, inadequate privilege checks, or flawed session management. Attackers with legitimate authentication credentials could potentially leverage this weakness to manipulate configuration data, alter network monitoring parameters, or disrupt service availability. The unspecified nature of the vectors suggests that multiple pathways exist for exploitation, potentially including injection attacks against database interfaces, manipulation of API endpoints, or exploitation of weak cryptographic implementations within the authentication subsystem. This ambiguity in attack vectors makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous as defenders cannot easily determine all possible exploitation methods, complicating both detection and remediation efforts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data integrity concerns to potentially compromise entire network monitoring infrastructures. Organizations relying on NNMi for critical network management tasks face significant risks including unauthorized network configuration changes, data corruption in monitoring databases, or complete service disruption that could affect network visibility and incident response capabilities. The vulnerability's potential for denial of service attacks could render network monitoring tools ineffective during critical incidents, while data modification capabilities could lead to false security alerts or masking of actual network threats. Given that NNMi is designed for enterprise network management, the compromise of such systems could have cascading effects on broader IT operations, potentially affecting multiple network segments or service levels. The vulnerability also represents a potential pathway for attackers to establish persistence within network environments or to escalate privileges within the monitoring infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patch management and enhanced access controls. Organizations must prioritize applying the latest security patches provided by HPE to address this vulnerability, as the affected versions span multiple major releases indicating this issue has been recognized and addressed through software updates. Network segmentation and principle of least privilege should be implemented to limit the scope of potential exploitation, ensuring that only necessary users have access to critical NNMi functions. Additional monitoring should be deployed to detect unusual activity patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, particularly focusing on database access logs and configuration change records. Security teams should also conduct thorough access reviews to identify and remove unnecessary administrative accounts or permissions that could be exploited through this vulnerability. The ATT&CK framework would classify this vulnerability under privilege escalation and defense evasion techniques, while CWE categorization would likely involve CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) or similar access control weakness classifications, making it critical for organizations to implement comprehensive security monitoring and access control measures to prevent exploitation.