Middlesbrough's upturn in fortunes continued as Isaiah Jones and Emmanuel Latte Lath goals secured a third successive Championship victory and halted Cardiff City's winning run.
Jones claimed his first league goal in 11 months early in the second half, the winger tapping in after good work from Lukas Engel.
The opener came just after Cardiff's best effort, when Ollie Tanner beat Seny Dieng but saw his shot crash to safety off the far post.
Middlesbrough put the result beyond doubt as Latte Lath burst forward on the counter-attack and kept his composure to skip inside Manolis Siopis and beat Jak Alnwick.