CVE-2016-2405 in Policy Center
Summary
by MITRE
Huawei Policy Center with software before V100R003C10SPC020 allows remote authenticated users to gain privileges and cause a denial of service (system crash) via a crafted URL.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/24/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-2405 affects Huawei Policy Center systems running software versions prior to V100R003C10SPC020, representing a critical security flaw that enables remote authenticated attackers to escalate privileges and disrupt system availability. This issue stems from insufficient input validation within the web interface of the Policy Center platform, which processes user-supplied URL parameters without adequate sanitization or access control checks. The vulnerability specifically targets the authentication mechanism and privilege escalation pathways within the system's web-based management interface, allowing attackers who have already established valid credentials to manipulate the application's behavior through carefully crafted URL requests.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when authenticated users submit maliciously constructed URLs that trigger improper parameter handling within the Policy Center's web application layer. These crafted URLs can manipulate internal system functions and bypass normal access controls, potentially enabling attackers to execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges. The flaw essentially creates a path for privilege escalation where legitimate users can leverage their existing credentials to gain administrative access or execute system-level operations that should be restricted to authorized administrators only. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-20 category of "Improper Input Validation" and specifically relates to CWE-264, "Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls," which aligns with the attack patterns documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the privilege escalation and defense evasion tactics.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-2405 extends beyond simple privilege escalation to include significant availability concerns through potential denial of service conditions. When exploited, the vulnerability can cause system crashes or unexpected termination of critical services, leading to complete disruption of the Policy Center functionality and potentially affecting network policy enforcement across the entire enterprise infrastructure. Organizations relying on Huawei Policy Center for network access control, policy management, and security enforcement would face substantial operational risks including service interruptions, policy enforcement failures, and potential security gaps that could be exploited by additional attackers. The vulnerability's remote nature and requirement for only authenticated access means that insiders or attackers who have obtained valid credentials could leverage this flaw to cause significant operational damage.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to Huawei software versions V100R003C10SPC020 or later, which contain the necessary patches to address the input validation flaws. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit the scope of potential exploitation, while monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect anomalous URL patterns or unusual privilege escalation attempts. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify any other systems that might be running vulnerable versions of the Huawei Policy Center software. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the patched software in controlled environments to ensure compatibility with existing network policies and configurations, while also implementing proper access logging and audit trails to monitor for any exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls and additional input validation controls at network boundaries to provide defense-in-depth protection against similar vulnerabilities in other applications.