CVE-2016-6641 in ViPR SRM
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in EMC ViPR SRM before 3.7.2 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/18/2019
The CVE-2016-6641 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw discovered in EMC ViPR SRM software prior to version 3.7.2. This vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-79 which specifically addresses improper neutralization of input during web page generation, making it a classic example of client-side injection attacks that can compromise user sessions and data integrity. The vulnerability affects the storage resource management platform that organizations use to monitor and manage their storage infrastructure, creating a significant risk for enterprises relying on this system for critical data operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the EMC ViPR SRM application. Attackers with legitimate authentication credentials can exploit this weakness to inject malicious scripts or HTML code into the application's web interface. These unspecified vectors likely involve form fields, URL parameters, or user-controllable data inputs that are not properly sanitized before being rendered back to users. The authenticated nature of the attack means that adversaries must first obtain valid user credentials, typically through social engineering, credential theft, or other initial compromise techniques, but once inside the system they can leverage this vulnerability to escalate their privileges or access sensitive information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal user credentials, redirect victims to malicious sites, or even execute arbitrary commands within the context of the victim's browser session. This poses severe risks for organizations managing critical storage infrastructure, as compromised ViPR SRM systems could provide attackers with access to storage monitoring data, configuration information, and potentially enable further attacks against underlying storage networks. The vulnerability particularly impacts environments where multiple administrators access the same system, as a single compromised account could provide access to all monitored storage resources.
Organizations should immediately implement comprehensive mitigation strategies including applying the vendor-supplied patch to EMC ViPR SRM version 3.7.2 or later, which addresses the input validation gaps that enable this attack. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual authentication patterns or script injection attempts, while security teams should conduct thorough penetration testing to identify any potential exploitation of this vulnerability within their environment. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1059.007 for "Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell" and T1566.001 for "Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment" as initial access vectors, with potential progression through T1548.001 for "Abuse of Functionality" once the XSS payload is successfully executed. Additionally, implementing proper input validation, output encoding, and Content Security Policy headers can provide defense-in-depth measures against similar vulnerabilities in other applications.