CVE-2016-4894 in SetucoCMS
Summary
by MITRE
SetucoCMS allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/14/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-4894 affects SetucoCMS, a content management system that enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks against targeted systems. This flaw represents a critical security weakness that undermines the availability and reliability of web applications built on this platform. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms within the CMS architecture, creating opportunities for malicious actors to exploit the system through carefully crafted malicious requests that can overwhelm system resources or disrupt normal operational functionality. Such attacks can result in complete service interruption, preventing legitimate users from accessing critical web applications and potentially causing significant business disruption.
From a technical perspective, the vulnerability manifests as a lack of proper sanitization and validation of user-supplied input data within the SetucoCMS framework. Attackers can leverage this weakness by submitting specially crafted payloads that trigger resource exhaustion conditions or cause application crashes. The flaw typically involves improper handling of HTTP requests or parameter processing that allows attackers to consume excessive memory, CPU cycles, or other system resources. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes issues related to resource exhaustion and uncontrolled resource consumption in software systems. The attack vector commonly involves sending malformed requests that cause the application to enter infinite loops, allocate excessive memory, or trigger cascading failures within the system's processing pipeline.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-4894 extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass broader business and security implications. Organizations relying on SetucoCMS may experience prolonged downtime, loss of customer confidence, and potential revenue impacts due to service unavailability. The vulnerability can be exploited by attackers with minimal technical expertise, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by both skilled and unskilled threat actors. Additionally, the denial of service condition can mask other underlying security issues or provide attackers with opportunities to escalate privileges or gain unauthorized access to system resources. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1499, which covers denial of service attacks and encompasses methods for disrupting system availability through resource exhaustion or application instability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-4894 should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation mechanisms and robust resource management controls within the SetucoCMS environment. System administrators should prioritize applying vendor-provided security patches and updates as soon as they become available, while also implementing rate limiting and request validation measures to prevent malicious requests from overwhelming system resources. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls can help filter suspicious traffic patterns, and monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual resource consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities within their broader technology stack. The implementation of proper error handling and graceful degradation mechanisms can help maintain system stability even when under attack, while regular security training for development teams can prevent similar flaws from being introduced in future system modifications.