CVE-2016-6001 in Forms Experience Builder
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Forms Experience Builder could be susceptible to a server-side request forgery (SSRF) from the application design interface allowing for some information disclosure of internal resources.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/09/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-6001 affects IBM Forms Experience Builder, a web-based application development platform that enables users to create interactive forms and surveys. This security flaw resides within the application's design interface and represents a server-side request forgery vulnerability that could potentially allow attackers to access internal network resources that would otherwise be protected from external access. The issue stems from inadequate input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the application's request handling processes, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate the application into making unauthorized requests to internal systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs when the IBM Forms Experience Builder application processes user inputs through its design interface without proper validation of URLs or resource identifiers. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting specially formatted requests that cause the application to make HTTP requests to internal services or resources that are not directly accessible from the internet. This allows for information disclosure and potential further exploitation of internal network components. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-918 as a Server-Side Request Forgery, which specifically addresses the issue of applications making unauthorized requests to internal systems through user-controllable input parameters.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it creates a potential entry point for more sophisticated attacks within an organization's network infrastructure. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could potentially map internal network topology, discover sensitive services running on internal hosts, or even gain access to internal databases or administrative interfaces that are normally protected by network segmentation. The severity of the impact depends largely on the organization's internal network architecture and the level of access that internal services provide. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations that rely on IBM Forms Experience Builder for form development and deployment, especially those with complex internal network configurations where internal resources are not properly isolated from external-facing applications.
Organizations should implement several mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability effectively. The primary recommendation involves applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates that specifically address the SSRF vulnerability in IBM Forms Experience Builder. Additionally, network segmentation should be reinforced to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts, ensuring that internal services are not directly accessible from the application servers. Input validation mechanisms should be strengthened throughout the application's design interface to prevent user-controllable parameters from being used to construct URLs or resource identifiers that could lead to unauthorized internal requests. Network monitoring and intrusion detection systems should be configured to detect unusual outbound requests from the application servers that might indicate exploitation attempts. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol tunneling and T1082 for system information discovery, making it a significant concern for organizations following comprehensive threat modeling approaches.