# CVE-2016-4311: Cross-site request forgery in n/a

> Remote attackers can hijack privileged user sessions in WSO2 Identity Server via CSRF in the XACML flow feature.

- **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:** 16 Feb 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-839c-vxrv-chvh

## What is CVE-2016-4311?

CVE-2016-4311 is a high-severity vulnerability in Wso2 Identity Server, published on 16 Feb 2017. 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 XACML flow feature in WSO2 Identity Server 5.1.0 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of privileged users for requests that process XACML requests via an entitlement/eval-policy-submit.jsp request.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-4311?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wso2 Identity Server.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-4311?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-4311 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-4311 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-4311 exists.

Public exploit code:

- WSO2 Identity Server 5.1.0 - Multiple Vulnerabilities (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Wso2 Identity Server

- [CVE-2025-10470](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-10470/): Denial-of-Service via Magic Link Authentication in WSO2 Identity Server Allows Service Unavailability (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2025-12107](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-12107/): Server-Side Template Injection via Velocity Template Engine in Multiple WSO2 Products Allows Remote Code Execution (high 8.4)
- [CVE-2016-4312](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4312/): XML external entity in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2025-10908](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-10908/): Account Lock Bypass via Magic Link or Pass Key Authentication in WSO2 Identity Server Allows Unauthorized Access (high 7.3)
- [CVE-2025-0663](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0663/): Auth bypass in WSO2 Identity Server (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-4311 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-4311 is a high-severity vulnerability in Wso2 Identity Server, published on 16 Feb 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-4311 exists.

Affected product: Wso2 Identity Server. 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-2016-4311/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4311/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4311
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4311
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-4311

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4311/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.