CVE-2016-5722 in OceanStor
Summary
by MITRE
OceanStor 5300 V3, 5500 V3, 5600 V3, 5800 V3, 6800 V3, 18800 V3, and 18500 V3 before V300R003C10 sends the plaintext session token in the HTTP header, which allows remote attackers to conduct replay attacks and obtain sensitive information by sniffing the network.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/24/2022
The CVE-2016-5722 vulnerability affects Huawei OceanStor storage systems across multiple V3 series models including 5300, 5500, 5600, 5800, 6800, 18800, and 18500 devices. This security flaw represents a critical weakness in the authentication mechanism where session tokens are transmitted in plaintext format within HTTP headers rather than being properly encrypted or secured. The vulnerability stems from inadequate implementation of secure communication protocols during session management, creating an exploitable condition that violates fundamental security principles for protecting sensitive authentication data.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the storage system's web interface and management protocols that fail to encrypt session tokens when they are passed through HTTP headers during user authentication and session maintenance operations. Attackers can leverage network sniffing tools to capture these plaintext tokens as they traverse the network infrastructure, enabling them to perform session replay attacks against the storage system. This weakness specifically aligns with CWE-312 (Sensitive Data Exposure) and CWE-319 (Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information) categories, which address the improper handling of sensitive data in network communications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to encompass full system compromise potential. Remote attackers who intercept these plaintext session tokens can impersonate legitimate users and gain unauthorized access to storage resources, potentially leading to data exfiltration, system modification, or complete denial of service conditions. The vulnerability affects both administrative and user-level access controls, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise environments where storage systems contain critical business data. This weakness directly maps to attack techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under T1566 (Phishing for Information) and T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) where attackers can leverage network traffic interception to escalate privileges and gain persistent access to storage infrastructure.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to isolate storage management traffic, deployment of encrypted communication protocols such as HTTPS with proper certificate management, and implementation of network monitoring solutions to detect anomalous traffic patterns. The recommended remediation involves upgrading affected OceanStor systems to version V300R003C10 or later, which includes proper encryption of session tokens and enhanced authentication mechanisms. Additionally, network administrators should configure firewalls to restrict management access to trusted networks only and implement mandatory access controls to limit the scope of potential exploitation. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive network traffic analysis to identify any potential exploitation attempts and establish baseline monitoring for abnormal authentication patterns that could indicate session token interception activities.