CVE-2016-5617 in XtraDB Cluster
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle MySQL 5.5.51 and earlier, 5.6.32 and earlier, and 5.7.14 and earlier allows local users to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability via vectors related to Server: Error Handling.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/28/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-5617 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle MySQL database systems affecting multiple version branches including 5.5.51 and earlier, 5.6.32 and earlier, and 5.7.14 and earlier releases. This unspecified weakness resides within the server's error handling mechanisms and provides local attackers with the capability to compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected systems. The vulnerability's classification as local privilege escalation means that an attacker must already have access to the system, typically through legitimate user accounts, to exploit this weakness. The impact extends beyond simple data exposure as the flaw can potentially allow attackers to modify database contents, disrupt service availability, and gain unauthorized access to sensitive information stored within the MySQL environment.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper error handling within the MySQL server component, which creates opportunities for attackers to manipulate system behavior through crafted inputs or specific error conditions. According to CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) classifications, this vulnerability likely corresponds to CWE-20, which addresses "Improper Input Validation," and potentially CWE-121, "Stack-based Buffer Overflow," depending on the specific implementation details. The error handling mechanisms in MySQL servers are designed to gracefully manage unexpected conditions and provide diagnostic information to administrators, but this flaw suggests that these mechanisms may not properly sanitize or validate error conditions, potentially allowing malicious inputs to trigger unexpected system behavior. The attack surface is particularly concerning because error handling routines are often executed with elevated privileges and may contain logic that directly interacts with system resources, file systems, or memory management components.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to database environments where local access is possible, which includes scenarios where users have legitimate access to the database server through various means such as shell access, application accounts, or administrative privileges. The potential for confidentiality impact means that sensitive data stored in MySQL databases could be exposed to unauthorized parties, while integrity concerns suggest that database records might be modified or corrupted. Availability threats could manifest as denial-of-service conditions that prevent legitimate users from accessing database services. The vulnerability's presence in multiple MySQL version streams indicates that organizations running any of these affected releases are at risk, making this a widespread concern across various deployment environments including enterprise systems, web applications, and cloud-hosted database services. Organizations utilizing MySQL for critical operations face potential business disruption and regulatory compliance issues if this vulnerability is exploited.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-5617 should prioritize immediate patching of affected MySQL installations to the latest available versions that contain fixes for the error handling vulnerabilities. Organizations should implement comprehensive access controls and privilege management to limit local user access to database servers, following the principle of least privilege as outlined in cybersecurity frameworks such as NIST SP 800-53. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect anomalous behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts, including unusual error logging patterns or unexpected database access patterns. The ATT&CK framework's concept of privilege escalation and defense evasion techniques should be considered when designing security controls, as this vulnerability could enable attackers to escalate their privileges and maintain persistent access to database systems. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify unpatched systems, while incident response procedures should include specific protocols for handling potential error handling exploits. Additionally, database administrators should implement proper logging and monitoring of database activities to detect suspicious error conditions that might indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing database activity monitoring solutions that can detect and alert on unusual patterns of database access or modification that might be associated with exploitation of this vulnerability.