CVE-2016-8376 in WebDatorCentral
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Kabona AB WebDatorCentral (WDC) application prior to Version 3.4.0. This non-validated redirect/non-validated forward (OPEN REDIRECT) allows chaining with authenticated vulnerabilities.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/14/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-8376 resides within the Kabona AB WebDatorCentral application, specifically affecting versions prior to 3.4.0. This represents a classic open redirect vulnerability that fundamentally compromises the application's ability to validate user-provided redirect URLs. The flaw enables attackers to manipulate the application's redirect functionality by crafting malicious URLs that point to arbitrary destinations, thereby bypassing the application's built-in security controls that should validate all redirect targets.
This vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-601, which specifically addresses open redirect vulnerabilities where applications redirect users to unvalidated external URLs. The technical implementation flaw occurs when the application accepts user input without proper validation or sanitization of redirect parameters, allowing an attacker to specify any URL for redirection. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be chained with other authenticated vulnerabilities, creating a multi-stage attack vector that can escalate privileges or bypass authentication mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple redirection attacks, as it provides attackers with a powerful primitive for executing more sophisticated attacks such as phishing campaigns, credential theft, or privilege escalation. When chained with authenticated vulnerabilities, an attacker can first authenticate to the application and then leverage the open redirect to redirect users to malicious sites that appear to be legitimate application interfaces. This chaining capability significantly increases the attack surface and potential damage, as it allows for more convincing social engineering attacks that can fool even security-aware users.
Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1566 for phishing attacks and T1071 for application layer protocol usage. The mitigation strategy requires immediate implementation of proper URL validation mechanisms, including whitelisting approved redirect destinations, implementing strict input validation, and ensuring all redirect parameters are properly sanitized. Organizations should also implement comprehensive security testing procedures that include automated scanning for open redirect vulnerabilities and regular security assessments of web applications to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.