CVE-2016-5985 in Tivoli Storage Manager
Summary
by MITRE
The IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (IBM Spectrum Protect) AIX client is vulnerable to a buffer overflow when Journal-Based Backup is enabled. A local attacker could overflow a buffer and execute arbitrary code on the system or cause a system crash.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/02/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-5985 affects IBM Tivoli Storage Manager client software running on AIX operating systems, specifically when Journal-Based Backup functionality is enabled. This represents a critical security flaw that could be exploited by local attackers to gain elevated privileges and compromise system integrity. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation within the client application's handling of backup journal data, creating an exploitable condition that allows malicious code execution.
The technical implementation of this buffer overflow occurs during the processing of journal-based backup operations where insufficient bounds checking is performed on user-supplied data. When Journal-Based Backup is enabled, the client application maintains journal files that track backup operations and their associated metadata. The flaw manifests when the application attempts to process these journal entries without adequate buffer size validation, allowing an attacker to craft malicious input that exceeds the allocated buffer space. This overflow can overwrite adjacent memory locations including return addresses and control data structures, enabling arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the running process.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations relying on IBM Spectrum Protect for data protection. Local attackers with access to the system can leverage this flaw to escalate privileges and potentially compromise the entire storage management infrastructure. The impact extends beyond immediate code execution as the vulnerability can also cause system crashes and instability, leading to denial of service conditions that disrupt critical backup operations. The local nature of the attack means that any user with access to the system can potentially exploit this vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in multi-user environments where privilege escalation could lead to broader system compromise.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including disabling Journal-Based Backup functionality until a patched version is deployed, applying the latest security updates from IBM, and implementing network segmentation to limit local access to affected systems. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1059 for command and scripting interpreter execution. System administrators should also consider monitoring for suspicious process behavior and abnormal memory access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar issues in other IBM Spectrum Protect components and ensure comprehensive protection against similar attack vectors.