# CVE-2016-6521: Cross-site request forgery in n/a

> Remote attackers can hijack user authentication to execute arbitrary Groovy code via CSRF in the Grails console.

- **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:** 23 Jan 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gw3r-3j9r-9c6f

## What is CVE-2016-6521?

CVE-2016-6521 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 23 Jan 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 Grails console (aka Grails Debug Console and Grails Web Console) 2.0.7, 1.5.10, and earlier allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of users for requests that execute arbitrary Groovy code via unspecified vectors.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-6521?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gopivotal Grails.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-6521?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-6521 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-6521 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6521 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2014-0053](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0053/): Missing authorization in n/a (medium 5.0)
- [CVE-2014-2857](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-2857/): Information disclosure in n/a (medium 5.0)
- [CVE-2014-2858](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-2858/): Path traversal in n/a (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-6521 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-6521 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 23 Jan 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: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6521 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2016-6521/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6521/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6521
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6521
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-6521

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6521/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.