CVE-2016-9164 in Unified Infrastructure Management
Summary
by MITRE
Directory traversal vulnerability in diag.jsp file in CA Unified Infrastructure Management (formerly CA Nimsoft Monitor) 8.4 SP1 and earlier and CA Unified Infrastructure Management Snap (formerly CA Nimsoft Monitor Snap) allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/03/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-9164 represents a critical directory traversal flaw within the diagnostic interface of CA Unified Infrastructure Management and its snap variant. This weakness exists in the diag.jsp file component of software versions 8.4 SP1 and earlier, creating a significant security risk that enables remote attackers to access arbitrary files on the affected systems. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper handling of file paths within the diagnostic web interface, allowing malicious actors to manipulate file access requests through carefully crafted input parameters that bypass normal security boundaries.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-22, which specifically addresses improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, commonly known as path traversal or directory traversal attacks. Attackers can exploit this flaw by constructing malicious URLs that include directory traversal sequences such as ../ or ..\ to navigate outside the intended directory structure and access sensitive files that should remain protected. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description indicate that multiple attack paths exist, potentially including parameter manipulation, URL rewriting, or other input injection techniques that can be leveraged to bypass access controls.
Operationally, this vulnerability presents a severe threat to organizations using affected CA Unified Infrastructure Management solutions, as it allows remote attackers to potentially access configuration files, credential stores, system logs, and other sensitive data that could be used for further exploitation. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure, as attackers could potentially gain insights into system architecture, network configurations, and security controls that would facilitate more sophisticated attacks. This weakness is particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where these monitoring tools often have elevated privileges and access to critical infrastructure data, making the potential compromise of such systems a significant concern for cybersecurity teams.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including patching to the latest available versions of CA Unified Infrastructure Management that address this vulnerability, as well as implementing network-level restrictions to limit access to the diag.jsp interface. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this type of vulnerability under T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access, highlighting the potential for credential theft and privilege escalation. Additional defensive measures should include disabling unnecessary web interfaces, implementing web application firewalls, and conducting thorough access control reviews to ensure that only authorized personnel can reach the diagnostic components. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be performed to identify similar weaknesses in other components of the monitoring infrastructure that could be exploited by attackers seeking to gain unauthorized access to system resources.