CVE-2016-3009 in Connections
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in IBM Connections 4.0 through CR4, 4.5 through CR5, and 5.0 before CR4 allows remote authenticated users to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that modify the Connections generic page.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/13/2019
The CVE-2016-3009 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting IBM Connections versions 4.0 through CR4, 4.5 through CR5, and 5.0 before CR4. This vulnerability resides within the web application's authentication mechanism and allows authenticated attackers to manipulate the system by forging requests that appear to originate from legitimate users. The flaw specifically targets the generic page modification functionality within IBM Connections, which serves as a core component for user-generated content management and collaboration features.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-forgery token validation mechanisms in the affected IBM Connections versions. When users authenticate to the system, their session credentials are typically maintained through cookies or other authentication tokens that are automatically included with subsequent requests. However, the vulnerability occurs because the application fails to verify that requests modifying generic page content originate from the legitimate user interface rather than from maliciously crafted web pages. This weakness allows attackers to construct specially crafted requests that, when executed by an authenticated user's browser, can perform unauthorized actions such as modifying page content, changing user permissions, or manipulating collaboration data.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant security risks for organizations relying on IBM Connections for enterprise collaboration. An attacker who successfully exploits this flaw can hijack user sessions to perform actions that could compromise sensitive business information, alter collaborative documents, or manipulate user access controls. The authenticated nature of the attack means that the malicious requests would appear legitimate to the server, making detection more challenging. This vulnerability particularly impacts organizations where IBM Connections serves as a primary platform for knowledge sharing, document collaboration, and team-based workflows, as unauthorized modifications could disrupt business operations and potentially expose confidential data.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. This classification indicates that the flaw represents a fundamental breakdown in the application's security controls designed to prevent unauthorized actions from being performed on behalf of authenticated users. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1531 which involves use of unauthorized command execution to modify system or application functionality. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates, implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms, and considering additional security controls such as Content Security Policy headers to prevent the execution of malicious requests from external domains. The remediation process should also include user education regarding the dangers of clicking untrusted links and the importance of maintaining secure browsing practices.