CVE-2016-3653 in Endpoint Protection Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerabilities in management scripts in Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager (SEPM) 12.1 before RU6 MP5 allow remote authenticated users to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-3653 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw affecting Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager version 12.1 prior to RU6 MP5. This issue resides within the management scripts of the SEPM system, which serves as a central endpoint security management platform for enterprise environments. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation in the administrative interfaces, creating a significant security weakness that can be exploited by authenticated attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of legitimate users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability allows remote authenticated users to manipulate the SEPM management interface through forged requests that appear legitimate to the server. Attackers can craft malicious requests that leverage existing authenticated sessions to execute administrative functions without requiring additional authentication credentials. The flaw specifically impacts the management scripts that handle user authentication and authorization processes, making it possible for attackers to hijack active sessions and perform actions such as creating new user accounts, modifying existing configurations, or executing administrative commands. This vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the web-based management console of the SEPM system.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-3653 is substantial for organizations relying on Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager for their endpoint security management. Successful exploitation could lead to complete compromise of the SEPM administrative functions, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access to critical security policies, modify endpoint configurations, and potentially escalate privileges within the security infrastructure. The vulnerability affects the integrity and availability of the management system, as attackers could disrupt normal operations or establish persistent access points within the enterprise security framework. This represents a significant threat to enterprise security posture since the SEPM serves as a central point for managing security policies across multiple endpoints.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-supplied patches and updates for RU6 MP5, which addresses the CSRF token validation issues. Network segmentation and monitoring of administrative interfaces should be enhanced to detect suspicious activities. The implementation of additional security controls such as multi-factor authentication for administrative access and regular security assessments of management interfaces should be considered. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential access through social engineering and T1078 for valid accounts usage. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of patched environments to ensure that the CSRF protections are properly implemented and that no additional vulnerabilities have been introduced during the update process.