CVE-2016-2924 IBM CVE debrief

Who should care

Organizations running IBM Infosphere BigInsights 4.2, especially teams that expose the application to users over the web, should prioritize review. Security operations, application owners, and administrators responsible for authentication and session handling should care because the impact depends on user interaction and can affect browser-side trust and cookies.

Technical summary

The NVD record maps the issue to CWE-79 and lists CVSS v3.0 vector CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N. That indicates network-reachable attack conditions, low attack complexity, required user interaction, and limited confidentiality/integrity impact. The vulnerable CPE in the record is IBM BigInsights 4.2. IBM’s advisory is referenced by NVD as the vendor patch/advisory source.

Defensive priority

Medium. The vulnerability requires a user to click a crafted URL, but successful exploitation can steal session cookies and run script in the affected site’s context. Prioritize if the product is internet-facing or used by privileged users.

Recommended defensive actions

• Apply IBM’s vendor guidance and patches referenced in the IBM PSIRT advisory for this issue.
• Confirm whether IBM Infosphere BigInsights 4.2 is deployed anywhere in the environment.
• Review application input handling and output encoding on affected pages or parameters to reduce XSS exposure.
• Limit the value of stolen session cookies by using secure session management controls where applicable, such as HttpOnly and Secure attributes.
• Consider adding browser-side defenses such as a restrictive Content Security Policy if compatible with the application.
• Monitor for suspicious links or unexpected redirects targeting BigInsights users, especially in environments with privileged accounts.

Evidence notes

Primary evidence comes from the official NVD record and CVE record for CVE-2016-2924. NVD published the CVE on 2017-02-01 and later modified the record on 2026-05-13; the modified timestamp should be treated as record-update timing, not the original issue date. The record identifies IBM Infosphere BigInsights 4.2 as vulnerable, classifies the weakness as CWE-79, and includes CVSS v3.0 vector CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N. IBM’s advisory is cited by NVD as the vendor patch reference.

Official resources