CVE-2016-3169: Drupal/core Drupal Saving User Accounts Can Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-q3p9-8728-wq7x
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CVSS 8.1
CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-3169 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.1) drupal saving user accounts can vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Drupal/core libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves drupal saving user accounts can sometimes grant the user all roles. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 6.38, 7.43.

CVE-2016-3169 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-3169
GHSA Identifier GHSA-q3p9-8728-wq7x
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.1
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Drupal/core
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.1

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2016-3169

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Drupal/core dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

drupal/core fixed: 6.38 
Upgrade drupal/core to 6.38
drupal/core fixed: 7.43 
Upgrade drupal/core to 7.43
drupal/drupal fixed: 7.43 
Upgrade drupal/drupal to 7.43
drupal/drupal fixed: 6.38 
Upgrade drupal/drupal to 6.38
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for drupal/core

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2016-3169, inspect your project dependencies for Drupal/core:

inspect dependencies for drupal/core

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Drupal/core in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 6.38), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. In Drupal/core, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

The User module in Drupal 6.x before 6.38 and 7.x before 7.43 allows remote attackers to gain privileges by leveraging contributed or custom code that calls the user_save function with an explicit category and loads all roles into the array.

CVE-2016-3169 Affected Drupal/core Versions

4 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
6.387.43
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
drupal/core
 Packagist
≥ 6.0
< 6.38
6.38
drupal/core
 Packagist
≥ 7.0
< 7.43
7.43
drupal/drupal
 Packagist
≥ 7.0
< 7.43
7.43
drupal/drupal
 Packagist
≥ 6.0
< 6.38
6.38

References

NVD — CVE-2016-3169 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-3169
Drupal/core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/drupal/core/CVE-2016-3169.yaml
Drupal/core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/drupal/drupal/CVE-2016-3169.yaml
Drupal/core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/drupal/core
www.drupal.org/sa-core-2016-001 WEB
https://www.drupal.org/SA-CORE-2016-001
Drupal/core Security Information SECURITY
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3498
Drupal/core Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/02/24/19
Drupal/core Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/03/15/10

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-3169?
CVE-2016-3169 is a security vulnerability in Drupal/core involving Drupal saving user accounts can sometimes grant the user all roles under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Drupal/core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 6.38, 7.43 across affected packages: drupal/core, drupal/drupal.
What version fixes CVE-2016-3169?
Upgrading to 6.38, 7.43 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is drupal/core affected?
Yes, drupal/core is affected in releases prior to 6.38, 7.43. Upgrade your dependency to 6.38, 7.43 or later.
Is drupal/drupal affected?
Yes, drupal/drupal is affected in releases prior to 7.43, 6.38. Upgrade your dependency to 7.43, 6.38 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-3169?
CVE-2016-3169 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2016-3169?
CVE-2016-3169 is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2016-3169?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for drupal/core'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-q3p9-8728-wq7x",
  "modified" : "2024-04-23T17:19:46Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T03:57:19Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-3169" ],
  "summary" : "Drupal saving user accounts can sometimes grant the user all roles",
  "details" : "The User module in Drupal 6.x before 6.38 and 7.x before 7.43 allows remote attackers to gain privileges by leveraging contributed or custom code that calls the user_save function with an explicit category and loads all roles into the array.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "drupal/core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "6.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.38"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "drupal/core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.43"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "drupal/drupal"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "7.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "7.43"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "drupal/drupal"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "6.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.38"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-3169"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/drupal/core/CVE-2016-3169.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/drupal/drupal/CVE-2016-3169.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/drupal/core"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.drupal.org/SA-CORE-2016-001"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3498"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/02/24/19"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/03/15/10"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-04-23T17:19:46Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2016-04-12T15:59:00Z"
  }
}