CVE-2016-6033 in Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments 7.1 (VMware) is vulnerable to cross-site request forgery which could allow an attacker to execute malicious and unauthorized actions transmitted from a user that the website trusts. IBM Reference #: 1995545.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/14/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-6033 affects IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments version 7.1 specifically when integrated with VMware environments. This cross-site request forgery vulnerability represents a critical security flaw that undermines the authentication and authorization mechanisms of the system. The vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate and verify the origin of HTTP requests, creating an avenue for malicious actors to exploit trust relationships between users and the web application. The issue manifests when legitimate users interact with the system through web interfaces, as the application cannot distinguish between authorized requests initiated by the user and forged requests crafted by attackers. This weakness allows adversaries to perform unauthorized operations on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability involves the application's insufficient use of anti-CSRF tokens or other protective mechanisms within its web forms and API endpoints. When users authenticate to the IBM Tivoli Storage Manager interface, their session becomes trusted by the system, but the application fails to enforce proper validation of request authenticity. Attackers can leverage this by crafting malicious web pages or email attachments that contain hidden requests to the vulnerable system, which automatically execute when users visit the malicious content or click on embedded links. The vulnerability specifically impacts the virtual environment management capabilities of the storage system, potentially allowing unauthorized modification of storage configurations, access to sensitive data, or execution of administrative commands.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure to encompass potential system compromise and unauthorized access to critical storage infrastructure. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could manipulate virtual machine storage configurations, alter backup policies, or gain access to sensitive storage management functions that control the entire virtual environment ecosystem. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that the vulnerability affects a storage management solution that likely handles critical enterprise data and virtualized environments. Organizations using this version of IBM Tivoli Storage Manager face significant risk of unauthorized administrative actions, potential data loss, or disruption of virtualized storage services. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for attackers to escalate privileges or establish persistent access within the storage management infrastructure, particularly when combined with other exploitation techniques.
Mitigation strategies for this CSRF vulnerability should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the application's web interface. Organizations should ensure that all state-changing operations require the inclusion of unique, unpredictable tokens that are validated against the user's session. The implementation of proper origin validation, referer header checking, and SameSite cookie attributes can significantly reduce the risk of exploitation. IBM recommended applying the appropriate security patches and updates to address this vulnerability, as the vendor would have released fixes specifically targeting the CSRF implementation flaws. Security teams should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious requests, conduct regular security assessments of the storage management interface, and establish monitoring for unauthorized administrative activities. Additionally, user education regarding the risks of clicking on untrusted links and visiting suspicious websites can provide an additional layer of defense against exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and represents a common attack pattern categorized under ATT&CK technique T1213 for credential access and T1078 for valid accounts, emphasizing the importance of proper session management and authentication validation.