CVE-2016-9796 in OmniVista 8770
Summary
by MITRE
Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista 8770 2.0 through 3.0 exposes different ORBs interfaces, which can be queried using the GIOP protocol on TCP port 30024. An attacker can bypass authentication, and OmniVista invokes methods (AddJobSet, AddJob, and ExecuteNow) that can be used to run arbitrary commands on the server, with the privilege of NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM on the server. NOTE: The discoverer states "The vendor position is to refer to the technical guidelines of the product security deployment to mitigate this issue, which means applying proper firewall rules to prevent unauthorised clients to connect to the OmniVista server."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/25/2025
The CVE-2016-9796 vulnerability affects Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista 8770 versions 2.0 through 3.0, presenting a critical security flaw that stems from improperly secured Object Request Broker (ORB) interfaces. These interfaces are accessible via the GIOP protocol on TCP port 30024, creating an attack surface that allows unauthorized remote access to the system. The vulnerability represents a significant failure in the principle of least privilege and proper access control implementation, as the system exposes functionality that should remain restricted to authenticated administrators.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability relies on the absence of proper authentication mechanisms for the ORB interfaces. Attackers can bypass authentication entirely and invoke specific methods including AddJobSet, AddJob, and ExecuteNow through the GIOP protocol. These methods are designed for legitimate administrative tasks but can be abused to execute arbitrary commands on the target server with elevated privileges. The privilege level of NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM indicates that successful exploitation grants attackers complete control over the operating system, enabling them to perform actions such as installing malware, modifying system files, creating new user accounts, or exfiltrating sensitive data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching for organizations relying on Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista 8770 systems. A successful attack could result in complete system compromise, data breaches, service disruption, and potential lateral movement within the network. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not require physical access or local network presence to execute the attack, making it particularly dangerous in environments where network segmentation is not properly implemented. Organizations may face regulatory compliance violations, financial losses, and reputational damage if such an attack occurs.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) and CWE-77 (Command Injection) categories, demonstrating how weak access controls can lead to command execution flaws. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) and T1068 (Local Privilege Escalation) techniques, as attackers can execute commands with system-level privileges. The recommended mitigation strategy, as suggested by the vendor, involves implementing proper firewall rules to restrict access to the OmniVista server on TCP port 30024. However, this approach represents a reactive measure rather than a comprehensive security solution, highlighting the need for proper network segmentation, regular security assessments, and adherence to security best practices such as the principle of least privilege and defense in depth strategies. Organizations should also consider implementing network monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized access attempts to sensitive ports and protocols.