# CVE-2016-2901: Cross-site request forgery in n/a

> Attackers can hijack user authentication to inject XSS sequences in IBM WebSphere Portal via CSRF.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 26 Jun 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g2j6-p4w9-38x3

## What is CVE-2016-2901?

CVE-2016-2901 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ibm Websphere Portal, published on 26 Jun 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the PA_Theme_Creator application in IBM WebSphere Portal 8.5 CF08 through CF10 and Web Content Manager allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users for requests that insert XSS sequences.

Weakness: CWE-352 (Cross-Site Request Forgery)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-2901?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Ibm Web Content Manager, Ibm Websphere Portal.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-2901?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-2901 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-2901 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-2901 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ibm Websphere Portal

- [CVE-2011-2754](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-2754/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 4.3)
- [CVE-2010-4806](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4806/): Missing authorization in n/a (medium 4.0)
- [CVE-2010-4807](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4807/): Race condition in n/a (low 3.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-2901 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-2901 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ibm Websphere Portal, published on 26 Jun 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-2901 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Ibm Websphere Portal. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2901/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2901/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-2901
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-2901
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-2901

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2901/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.