CVE-2016-2935 in BigFix Remote Control
Summary
by MITRE
The broker application in IBM BigFix Remote Control before 9.1.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via an invalid HTTP request.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/13/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-2935 affects the broker application component within IBM BigFix Remote Control versions prior to 9.1.3, representing a critical security flaw that enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks. This vulnerability resides in the HTTP request handling mechanism of the broker application, which fails to properly validate incoming requests. The issue stems from insufficient input sanitization and validation processes that allow malicious actors to craft malformed HTTP requests designed to exploit the application's processing logic. Attackers can leverage this weakness to send specially crafted invalid HTTP requests that cause the broker application to crash or become unresponsive, effectively disrupting legitimate remote control operations and service availability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes the weakness as an Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability, specifically manifesting as a resource exhaustion condition through malformed HTTP requests. The broker application's failure to implement proper request validation and error handling creates an exploitable entry point where invalid HTTP protocols or malformed request structures can trigger unexpected application behavior. This flaw operates at the application layer of the network stack, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited from external network positions without requiring authentication or prior access to the system. The vulnerability demonstrates characteristics consistent with CWE-20, or Improper Input Validation, where the application does not adequately check the integrity and format of incoming HTTP requests before processing them.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, potentially affecting enterprise remote management capabilities and business continuity operations that depend on IBM BigFix Remote Control for system administration and security monitoring. Organizations utilizing affected versions may experience complete service outages for remote control functionality, forcing administrators to rely on alternative access methods that could be less secure or efficient. The vulnerability can be exploited by any remote attacker with network access to the affected broker application, making it particularly concerning for environments where external network exposure is common. This weakness directly impacts the availability aspect of the CIA triad, compromising the system's ability to provide continuous service to legitimate users while potentially creating opportunities for further exploitation attempts.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-2935 should prioritize immediate deployment of IBM's official security patches and updates for BigFix Remote Control versions 9.1.3 and later, which address the underlying HTTP request validation issues. Network administrators should implement firewall rules and access control lists to restrict access to the broker application's HTTP ports, limiting exposure to unauthorized users while maintaining legitimate operational access. Additionally, deploying intrusion detection systems with signature-based detection capabilities can help identify and block malicious HTTP request patterns associated with this vulnerability. Organizations should also consider implementing application-level firewalls or web application firewalls that can filter and validate HTTP requests before they reach the vulnerable broker application. The remediation process should include thorough testing of patched environments to ensure that the vulnerability is fully resolved without introducing regressions in legitimate functionality, while also conducting network segmentation to minimize the attack surface and reduce the potential impact of similar vulnerabilities in other system components. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining current security patches and proper input validation practices as outlined in the ATT&CK framework's defense evasion and privilege escalation tactics.