CVE-2016-2174 in Ranger
Summary
by MITRE
SQL injection vulnerability in the policy admin tool in Apache Ranger before 0.5.3 allows remote authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the eventTime parameter to service/plugins/policies/eventTime.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/19/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-2174 represents a critical SQL injection flaw within Apache Ranger's policy administration tool, specifically affecting versions prior to 0.5.3. This security weakness resides in the administrative interface that manages policy configurations for the Apache Ranger authorization framework, which is designed to provide centralized security administration across Hadoop ecosystems. The vulnerability manifests when authenticated administrators interact with the policy management functionality, particularly through the eventTime parameter handling within the service/plugins/policies/eventTime endpoint. This flaw allows attackers who have already gained administrative credentials to escalate their privileges and execute arbitrary SQL commands against the underlying database system.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the improper sanitization of user input within the eventTime parameter, which is processed by the policy administration tool without adequate validation or escaping mechanisms. When an authenticated administrator makes a request containing malicious SQL payload within the eventTime parameter, the application fails to properly escape special characters or use parameterized queries, thereby allowing the injected SQL commands to be executed directly against the database backend. This type of vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-89, which specifically addresses SQL injection vulnerabilities where untrusted data is incorporated into SQL commands without proper sanitization.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-2174 is significant for organizations relying on Apache Ranger for security policy management, as it provides a pathway for authenticated attackers to bypass normal access controls and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive data within the database. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to extract, modify, or delete policy configurations, potentially leading to complete compromise of the authorization framework. The attack vector requires only that an adversary already possess valid administrative credentials, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by insiders or attackers who have successfully obtained administrative access through other means. The vulnerability affects the integrity and confidentiality of security policies managed by Apache Ranger, undermining the core purpose of the system.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to Apache Ranger version 0.5.3 or later to remediate this vulnerability, as this release includes proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms for the eventTime parameter. Additional mitigations include implementing network segmentation to limit access to administrative endpoints, enforcing strict access controls for administrative accounts, and monitoring database activity for suspicious SQL command execution patterns. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 which covers legitimate credentials and T1046 which involves network service scanning, as attackers may first identify the vulnerable endpoint before exploiting it. Security teams should also consider implementing database activity monitoring solutions to detect anomalous SQL execution patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the updated software to ensure that existing policy configurations remain functional while addressing the SQL injection vulnerability that could otherwise allow attackers to manipulate the authorization framework's underlying data store.