CVE-2016-3702 in CloudForms Management Engine
Summary
by MITRE
Padding oracle flaw in CloudForms Management Engine (aka CFME) 5 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive cleartext information.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/19/2020
The CVE-2016-3702 vulnerability represents a critical padding oracle flaw within the CloudForms Management Engine version 5, a comprehensive infrastructure management platform developed by Red Hat. This vulnerability specifically affects the encryption implementation within the CFME application, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on this management solution. The flaw resides in how the system handles cryptographic padding during decryption processes, allowing malicious actors to exploit the error responses generated when invalid padding is encountered.
The technical exploitation of this padding oracle vulnerability enables attackers to systematically decrypt encrypted data without possessing the legitimate encryption keys. Through repeated queries and analysis of response timing or error patterns, an attacker can gradually reconstruct sensitive cleartext information from encrypted communications. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-119 category of "Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer" and aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1552.004 for "Credentials from Password Stores" and T1071.004 for "Application Layer Protocol: DNS." The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental weakness in the cryptographic implementation where the system provides distinguishable responses for valid and invalid padding, creating an oracle that reveals information about the encryption process.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it can lead to complete compromise of the management engine's security posture. Organizations using CFME version 5 may experience unauthorized access to sensitive configuration data, user credentials, system logs, and potentially administrative privileges. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries can exploit this vulnerability from outside the network perimeter, making it particularly dangerous for cloud-based deployments where the management engine is exposed to external traffic. This vulnerability undermines the core security assumptions of the encryption mechanisms and can result in cascading effects throughout the infrastructure management ecosystem.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-3702 require immediate patching of the CloudForms Management Engine to version 5.1 or later, which includes the necessary cryptographic fixes. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit access to the CFME management interface and establish strict access controls through multi-factor authentication. The remediation process involves not only applying the vendor-provided patches but also conducting thorough security assessments of all encrypted data within the system to identify potential information leakage that may have already occurred. Additionally, organizations should review their cryptographic implementations and ensure that error responses do not provide distinguishable information about padding validity, following the principle of least privilege and implementing proper cryptographic protocols that prevent oracle attacks. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper cryptographic implementation and the need for security-conscious development practices that align with industry standards such as NIST SP 800-57 and ISO/IEC 15408 Common Criteria.