CVE-2016-9880 in Cloud Foundry
Summary
by MITRE
The GemFire broker for Cloud Foundry 1.6.x before 1.6.5 and 1.7.x before 1.7.1 has multiple API endpoints which do not require authentication and could be used to gain access to the cluster managed by the broker.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/14/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-9880 affects GemFire broker implementations within Cloud Foundry environments, specifically targeting versions 1.6.x prior to 1.6.5 and 1.7.x prior to 1.7.1. This represents a critical authentication bypass flaw that undermines the security posture of distributed data management systems. The affected software serves as a broker component that facilitates communication between Cloud Foundry applications and GemFire caching services, making it a crucial element in enterprise data architectures. The vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls implemented across multiple API endpoints, creating pathways for unauthorized entities to interact with the underlying GemFire cluster without proper credential validation.
The technical flaw manifests through the absence of authentication requirements on several API endpoints that should logically require secure access controls. These endpoints typically handle cluster management operations, data access requests, and configuration modifications that would normally be restricted to authorized administrators or applications. The lack of authentication mechanisms allows any external entity with network access to the broker service to execute potentially destructive operations including data manipulation, cluster configuration changes, and unauthorized data retrieval. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues in software systems. The flaw represents a fundamental failure in the principle of least privilege, where the system grants access to sensitive operations without proper verification of user identity or authorization status.
From an operational perspective, the impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential data compromise and system integrity violations. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could gain complete control over the GemFire cluster, enabling them to modify cached data, disrupt service availability, or extract sensitive information from the distributed cache. The Cloud Foundry environment becomes particularly vulnerable as the broker acts as a gateway to enterprise data services, making this a high-value target for adversaries seeking to access corporate datasets. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts usage and privilege escalation through legitimate system access. The affected systems may experience cascading failures if attackers manipulate cluster configurations or corrupt cached data, potentially affecting multiple applications that depend on the GemFire service.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the patched versions 1.6.5 and 1.7.1, which contain proper authentication enforcement mechanisms. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to the broker endpoints to trusted administrative networks only. Additional security measures include monitoring for unauthorized API access attempts and implementing robust logging of all broker operations for audit purposes. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper authentication implementation in distributed systems and serves as a reminder of the security implications when administrative interfaces lack adequate access controls. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their Cloud Foundry deployments to identify similar authentication gaps in other broker components and ensure that all management interfaces properly enforce access controls to prevent unauthorized cluster manipulation and data compromise.