CVE-2016-4406 in Integrated Lights-Out 3
Summary
by MITRE
A remote cross site scripting vulnerability was identified in HPE iLO 3 all version prior to v1.88 and HPE iLO 4 all versions prior to v2.44.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/04/2022
The vulnerability CVE-2016-4406 represents a critical remote cross site scripting flaw affecting Hewlett Packard Enterprise iLO 3 and iLO 4 management interfaces. This weakness resides in the web-based management console of these server remote management tools, which are widely deployed across enterprise data centers for system monitoring and administration. The vulnerability impacts all versions of HPE iLO 3 prior to v1.88 and HPE iLO 4 prior to v2.44, making it a significant concern for organizations maintaining legacy infrastructure. The flaw allows remote attackers to inject malicious scripts into the web interface through improperly validated user input, potentially compromising the management interface and enabling unauthorized access to critical server functions.
The technical implementation of this cross site scripting vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the iLO web console components. When users interact with the management interface, particularly through parameters or form fields that accept user-supplied data, the system fails to properly sanitize or encode this input before rendering it in web responses. This allows attackers to craft malicious payloads that execute within the context of a victim's browser session, potentially stealing session cookies, modifying interface behavior, or redirecting users to malicious sites. The vulnerability specifically affects the web-based management interface rather than the underlying system functionality, making it particularly dangerous for administrators who rely on the iLO console for remote server management.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it provides attackers with a potential foothold for more sophisticated attacks within enterprise environments. Since iLO interfaces are commonly used for critical server administration tasks, successful exploitation could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to server management functions, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The remote nature of the vulnerability means that attackers do not require physical access to the target systems, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with distributed server infrastructure. Additionally, the widespread deployment of iLO interfaces across enterprise environments increases the potential attack surface and impact of this vulnerability.
Organizations affected by CVE-2016-4406 should prioritize immediate remediation through official firmware updates provided by HPE, specifically upgrading to iLO 3 v1.88 or later and iLO 4 v2.44 or later versions. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which describes cross site scripting flaws in web applications, and represents a classic example of insufficient input validation in web interfaces. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for command and scripting interpreter, as attackers could potentially use the XSS payload to execute malicious commands within the browser context. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented as temporary mitigations, while administrators should monitor for suspicious activity in iLO management console logs and consider disabling unnecessary web interface features until updates are applied.