CVE-2001-0982 in Tivoli Secureway Policy Director
Summary
by MITRE
Directory traversal vulnerability in IBM Tivoli WebSEAL Policy Director 3.01 through 3.7.1 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files or directories via encoded .. (dot dot) sequences containing "%2e" strings.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/07/2014
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2001-0982 represents a critical directory traversal flaw within IBM Tivoli WebSEAL Policy Director versions 3.01 through 3.7.1. This security weakness stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data containing encoded directory traversal sequences. The flaw specifically manifests when the application processes URL-encoded dot-dot sequences using "%2e" representations instead of standard ".." notation, allowing malicious actors to bypass intended access controls and navigate to arbitrary file system locations.
This directory traversal vulnerability operates at the application layer and falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-22, which specifically addresses improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory. The flaw enables attackers to exploit the web application's file handling mechanisms by crafting malicious requests that contain encoded path traversal sequences. When the application processes these requests without proper validation, it interprets the encoded "%2e" sequences as directory navigation commands, effectively allowing unauthorized access to files outside the intended web root directory.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it provides attackers with the capability to access sensitive system files, configuration data, and potentially execute unauthorized operations within the affected environment. Remote attackers can leverage this weakness to retrieve critical system information, access database files, examine application source code, and potentially compromise the entire web application infrastructure. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or local network privileges to carry out successful attacks.
The attack vector for CVE-2001-0982 aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK framework's technique T1083, which focuses on discovering files and directories. Attackers can systematically enumerate directory structures, identify sensitive files, and extract confidential data without authentication. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations using IBM Tivoli WebSEAL Policy Director implementations, making them susceptible to data exfiltration attacks and potential system compromise. The impact is amplified when the web application runs with elevated privileges, as attackers could potentially access system-level files and configuration data that would otherwise be protected.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate patching of affected IBM Tivoli WebSEAL Policy Director versions to the latest available security updates. Organizations should implement proper input validation and sanitization mechanisms that reject or properly encode any suspicious path traversal sequences. Network segmentation and web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection by monitoring and blocking malicious requests containing encoded directory traversal patterns. Access control measures should be strengthened to ensure that applications run with minimal required privileges, reducing the potential impact of successful exploitation. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in the broader application ecosystem.