CVE-2016-2884 in Forms Experience Builder
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in IBM Forms Experience Builder 8.5.x and 8.6.x before 8.6.3.1, in an unspecified non-default configuration, allows remote authenticated users to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that insert XSS sequences.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/13/2019
The CVE-2016-2884 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within IBM Forms Experience Builder versions 8.5.x and 8.6.x prior to 8.6.3.1. This vulnerability operates under specific non-default configuration conditions that make it particularly dangerous for organizations relying on the platform for form creation and user interaction. The flaw enables remote authenticated attackers to manipulate the authentication mechanisms of arbitrary users, effectively allowing them to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of legitimate users within the system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of cross-site requests within the IBM Forms Experience Builder framework. When users authenticate to the system, their session tokens become vulnerable to exploitation through carefully crafted malicious requests that leverage the victim's existing authenticated session. The vulnerability specifically targets the form submission and data insertion processes, where attackers can inject malicious XSS sequences that execute within the context of the victim's browser session. This occurs because the application fails to properly verify the origin of requests or validate that the requests originate from legitimate user interactions rather than maliciously constructed payloads.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it creates a persistent threat vector for attackers seeking to compromise user sessions and execute malicious code within the target environment. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to insert persistent XSS payloads that may steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform actions that modify form data or user configurations. The non-default configuration aspect of this vulnerability suggests that organizations must carefully review their deployment settings to ensure that the specific conditions enabling this flaw are properly addressed. This weakness directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the integrity of user authentication mechanisms that should protect against such session hijacking attacks.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should prioritize immediate remediation through the application of IBM's official patches and updates, specifically targeting the 8.6.3.1 release or later versions that contain the necessary fixes for this CSRF implementation. Security teams should conduct comprehensive assessments of their IBM Forms Experience Builder deployments to identify any non-default configurations that might expose the system to this vulnerability. The mitigation strategy should include implementing additional layers of protection such as anti-CSRF tokens in all form submissions, enforcing strict origin validation checks, and monitoring for suspicious authentication patterns. From a defensive perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1548.002 for privilege escalation through session hijacking and CWE-352 for cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious request patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while ensuring that all user interactions with the forms platform are properly authenticated and authorized through robust session management protocols.