CVE-2016-6122 in Kenexa LMS on Cloud
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Kenexa LMS on Cloud 13.1 and 13.2 - 13.2.4 discloses answers to security questions in a response to authenticated users.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/09/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-6122 affects IBM Kenexa Learning Management System on Cloud versions 13.1 through 13.2.4, representing a critical information disclosure flaw that undermines the security posture of user authentication mechanisms. This vulnerability specifically targets the security question response handling within the system, where authenticated users can access sensitive answer data that should remain protected. The flaw exists in the system's response processing logic, where security question answers are inadvertently exposed through API responses or direct data retrieval mechanisms, creating a significant risk for user account compromise and credential recovery attacks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the authentication and recovery modules of the LMS platform. When users attempt to access or reset their accounts through security questions, the system fails to properly restrict response data access to authorized personnel only. This weakness allows authenticated users to query system resources and retrieve security question answers that should be protected from unauthorized access. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses the improper exposure of sensitive information, and demonstrates how authentication bypass mechanisms can be exploited through information leakage rather than direct credential compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, creating potential pathways for account takeover attacks, credential stuffing, and social engineering operations. Attackers who can exploit this vulnerability gain access to security question answers that often contain easily guessable information such as pet names, mother's maiden names, or other personal identifiers. This exposure directly undermines the multi-factor authentication security model that organizations rely upon for user account protection. The vulnerability also creates risks for privilege escalation attacks where attackers can use the disclosed information to gain unauthorized access to additional system resources or administrative functions.
Organizations utilizing affected IBM Kenexa LMS versions should implement immediate mitigations including disabling or restricting access to security question functionality, implementing additional authentication layers, and reviewing system access controls. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of principle of least privilege in authentication systems and highlights the need for comprehensive input validation across all user-facing APIs. Security teams should also consider implementing network segmentation and monitoring for unusual access patterns to security question endpoints. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 which covers the use of cloud infrastructure to maintain access and T1552 which addresses the exploitation of credentials and security questions for unauthorized access to systems. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as account lockout mechanisms and enhanced monitoring for suspicious authentication attempts to prevent exploitation of this information disclosure vulnerability.