CVE-2023-5516 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

This CVE details a vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-5516, with Hitachi Energy as the assigner organization. The vulnerability was published on November 1, 2023.

Understanding CVE-2023-5516

CVE-2023-5516 is a vulnerability that arises from poorly constructed web requests and URI components with special characters, leading to unhandled errors and exceptions that inadvertently disclose sensitive information about the underlying technology.

What is CVE-2023-5516?

The vulnerability in CVE-2023-5516 exposes sensitive information, including technical details like version information, endpoints, backend server details, and internal IP addresses. This unintentional exposure can potentially expand the attack surface by revealing additional vulnerabilities.

The Impact of CVE-2023-5516

CVE-2023-5516 has a medium severity base score of 5.3 according to CVSS version 3.1. It falls under the CAPEC-410 category of 'Information Elicitation,' highlighting the risk of revealing sensitive data to unauthorized actors.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-5516

The vulnerability description involves the disclosure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor, categorized under CWE-200 ('Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor'). The attack complexity is low, and the attack vector is through the network.

Vulnerability Description

CVE-2023-5516 involves disclosing sensitive information due to poorly constructed web requests and URI components, triggering unhandled errors that lead to the unintentional exposure of technical details.

Affected Systems and Versions

The vulnerability affects the eSOMS product by Hitachi Energy, specifically versions equal to or less than 6.3.13, where version 6.0 is impacted.

Exploitation Mechanism

By sending specially crafted web requests with specific characters, attackers can trigger errors that reveal sensitive information about the technology stack and backend infrastructure.

Mitigation and Prevention

To address CVE-2023-5516, immediate steps should be taken to mitigate the risk of exposing sensitive information and secure the affected systems.

Immediate Steps to Take

Implement input validation mechanisms, sanitize user input, and ensure error handling to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information through web requests.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regular security assessments, code reviews, and penetration testing can help identify and address vulnerabilities like CVE-2023-5516 proactively.

Patching and Updates

Stay informed about security patches released by Hitachi Energy for the affected eSOMS versions to fix the vulnerability and enhance system security.