CVE-2016-6840 in OceanStor ISM
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the management interface in Huawei OceanStor ISM before V200R001C04SPC200 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the loginName parameter to cgi-bin/doLogin_CgiEntry and possibly other unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/21/2022
The CVE-2016-6840 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within Huawei OceanStor ISM management interface, specifically affecting versions prior to V200R001C04SPC200. This vulnerability resides in the authentication handling mechanism of the storage management system, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on Huawei's enterprise storage solutions. The flaw manifests through the loginName parameter in the cgi-bin/doLogin_CgiEntry endpoint, which fails to properly sanitize user input before processing authentication requests. This oversight enables remote attackers to execute malicious web scripts or HTML code within the context of authenticated sessions, potentially compromising the entire storage management infrastructure.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability follows a classic XSS attack pattern where malicious input is injected into the loginName parameter, which then gets processed and rendered without adequate sanitization or encoding. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple script injection as it affects the core authentication mechanism of the storage management interface. Attackers can leverage this flaw to steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or execute arbitrary commands within the context of the management interface. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description suggest that similar vulnerabilities may exist in other endpoints within the ISM framework, indicating a potential broader security weakness in the input validation mechanisms across the management interface.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses severe risks to enterprise storage environments as it allows attackers to gain unauthorized access to storage management functions. The compromised management interface could enable attackers to modify storage configurations, access sensitive data, or even escalate privileges to administrative levels. The remote nature of the attack means that threat actors do not require physical access to the storage infrastructure, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in networked environments. Organizations using affected Huawei OceanStor ISM versions face potential data breaches, system compromise, and regulatory compliance violations, especially in industries with strict data protection requirements such as finance, healthcare, and government sectors.
Security mitigations for CVE-2016-6840 primarily involve upgrading to Huawei OceanStor ISM V200R001C04SPC200 or later versions where the vulnerability has been patched. Organizations should also implement input validation measures, including proper encoding and sanitization of all user inputs, particularly in authentication parameters. Network segmentation and access controls can provide additional defense-in-depth measures to limit potential exploitation. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting flaws, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1190 for exploitation of web applications. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other storage management interfaces and web applications within the enterprise infrastructure.