CVE-2016-9716 in Infosphere Master Data Management Server
Summary
by MITRE
IBM InfoSphere Master Data Management Server 11.0, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5, and 11.6 is vulnerable to cross-site request forgery which could allow an attacker to execute malicious and unauthorized actions transmitted from a user that the website trusts. IBM X-Force ID: 119729.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/06/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-9716 affects IBM InfoSphere Master Data Management Server versions 11.0 through 11.6, representing a critical cross-site request forgery flaw that undermines the security posture of enterprise master data management systems. This vulnerability resides within the web-based administrative interface of the software, where the absence of proper anti-CSRF mechanisms allows malicious actors to exploit the trust relationship between authenticated users and the application. The flaw specifically manifests when the server fails to validate the origin of requests, enabling attackers to craft malicious web pages or links that, when clicked by authenticated users, execute unauthorized operations within the context of the user's session.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the server's reliance on session cookies for authentication without incorporating anti-CSRF tokens or other validation mechanisms in critical operations. When legitimate users navigate to compromised web pages or click malicious links, the browser automatically includes any relevant authentication cookies, allowing the attacker's malicious requests to appear as legitimate user actions. This weakness is particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where master data management systems handle sensitive organizational information, including customer data, product catalogs, and business-critical metadata. The vulnerability falls under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for initial access through spearphishing attachments.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized actions, as it can enable attackers to perform destructive operations within the master data management environment. An attacker could potentially modify or delete critical master data records, alter user permissions, or manipulate data governance policies that control how information flows through the enterprise. Given that InfoSphere Master Data Management serves as a central repository for enterprise data, successful exploitation could lead to data integrity compromises, regulatory compliance violations, and significant business disruption. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects multiple versions of the software, indicating a persistent flaw in the application's security architecture that required patching across several release cycles.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including the deployment of web application firewalls that can detect and block CSRF attacks, ensuring that all critical operations require additional authentication factors beyond session cookies, and implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms. The recommended remediation involves applying the vendor-provided security patches that address the specific CSRF implementation gaps in the affected IBM InfoSphere versions. Additionally, security teams should conduct thorough assessments of their master data management environments to identify any other potentially vulnerable applications that might share similar architectural flaws. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of implementing comprehensive security controls in enterprise data management systems, where the compromise of a single authentication mechanism can have cascading effects across the entire data governance infrastructure.