# CVE-2016-6656: Command injection in Pivotal Greenplum 4.3.0.0 to 4.3.9.1 and older versions that are end of life

> Privileged users can inject arbitrary commands via GPHDFS external tables, leading to code execution on the database server.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Dec 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xf4j-p5gp-h24h

## What is CVE-2016-6656?

CVE-2016-6656 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Pivotal Greenplum 4.3.0.0 to 4.3.9.1 and older versions that are end of life, published on 16 Dec 2016. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in Pivotal Greenplum before 4.3.10.0. Creation of external tables using GPHDFS protocol has a vulnerability whereby arbitrary commands can be injected into the system. In order to exploit this vulnerability the user must have superuser 'gpadmin' access to the system or have been granted GPHDFS protocol permissions in order to create a GPHDFS external table.

Weakness: CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-6656?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pivotal Software Greenplum.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-6656?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-6656 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-6656 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6656 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-6656 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-6656 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Pivotal Greenplum 4.3.0.0 to 4.3.9.1 and older versions that are end of life, published on 16 Dec 2016. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6656 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Pivotal Greenplum 4.3.0.0 to 4.3.9.1 and older versions that are end of life. 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-2016-6656/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6656/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6656
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6656
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-6656

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6656/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.