CVE-2018-12416 in DataSynapse GridServer Manager
Summary
by MITRE
The GridServer Broker and GridServer Director components of TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO DataSynapse GridServer Manager contain vulnerabilities which may allow an unauthenticated user to perform cross-site request forgery (CSRF). Affected releases are TIBCO Software Inc. TIBCO DataSynapse GridServer Manager: versions up to and including 5.2.0; 6.0.0; 6.0.1; 6.0.2; 6.1.0; 6.1.1; 6.2.0; 6.3.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/06/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-12416 affects the GridServer Broker and GridServer Director components within TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO DataSynapse GridServer Manager suite. This critical security flaw resides in the authentication mechanisms of these enterprise grid computing components that facilitate distributed data processing and application deployment. The affected versions span across multiple release streams including 5.2.0 and all subsequent versions up to 6.3.0, indicating a widespread impact across the product lineage. These components serve as crucial infrastructure elements for managing distributed computing environments where multiple nodes coordinate complex data processing tasks.
The technical flaw manifests as a cross-site request forgery vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to manipulate the targeted system through forged requests. This CSRF vulnerability specifically impacts the administrative interfaces of the GridServer components, enabling malicious actors to perform unauthorized operations without proper authentication. The flaw occurs because the system fails to implement adequate anti-CSRF protections such as unique tokens or origin validation mechanisms that would normally prevent malicious requests from being executed on behalf of authenticated users. Attackers can leverage this weakness to execute privileged operations including but not limited to configuration changes, data manipulation, or system state modifications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access as it compromises the integrity and availability of critical enterprise grid computing infrastructure. Organizations relying on TIBCO DataSynapse GridServer Manager for distributed application deployment and data processing face significant risks including potential data breaches, service disruption, and unauthorized system modifications. The unauthenticated nature of the attack means that even systems with proper network segmentation or firewall rules may be vulnerable if the administrative interfaces remain accessible. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where these grid components are exposed to untrusted networks or where administrative access is not adequately protected by additional security layers.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including network segmentation to isolate administrative interfaces from untrusted networks, implementation of additional authentication mechanisms, and deployment of web application firewalls to detect and block CSRF attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery weaknesses in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1078.002 for additional techniques. Security teams should also consider implementing proper input validation, CSRF token generation, and origin header verification mechanisms. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other enterprise components. Updates to the affected TIBCO software versions should be prioritized as patches are released, though organizations may need to implement temporary workarounds such as disabling vulnerable interfaces until proper patches can be deployed.