CVE-2003-1282 in Net.Data
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Net.Data allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information such as path names, server names and possibly user names and passwords by causing the (1) $(DTW_CURRENT_FILENAME), (2) $(DATABASE), (3) $(LOGIN), (4) $(PASSWORD), and possibly other predefined variables that can be echoed back to the user via a web form.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/16/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2003-1282 affects IBM Net.Data, a web server application that was widely used in the early 2000s for serving dynamic content and database integration. This security flaw represents a classic information disclosure vulnerability that exploits the application's handling of predefined variables within its web forms and response mechanisms. The vulnerability specifically targets the way Net.Data processes and echoes back certain environmental variables to users, creating a pathway for attackers to extract sensitive server information without authentication.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's insecure processing of predefined variables such as DTW_CURRENT_FILENAME, DATABASE, LOGIN, and PASSWORD. When these variables are referenced within web forms or response pages, the application fails to properly sanitize or restrict their output, allowing them to be directly echoed back to requesting users. This behavior occurs because the web server does not adequately validate or filter the content of these variables before displaying them in response to HTTP requests, creating a direct information leak channel.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to system security and confidentiality. Attackers can exploit this flaw to gather detailed information about the server environment, including file paths that may reveal the underlying directory structure and potentially sensitive file locations. The exposure of server names and database connection details creates opportunities for further exploitation, while the potential disclosure of login credentials represents a critical security risk that could lead to unauthorized access to the system. The vulnerability essentially provides attackers with a reconnaissance tool that can be used to map the server infrastructure and identify potential attack vectors.
The impact of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses the exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor, and can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1213.002 for Data from Information Repositories. The flaw demonstrates poor input validation and output encoding practices that are commonly exploited in web application attacks. Organizations using IBM Net.Data were particularly vulnerable because the application's default configuration did not include proper sanitization of these variables, making the information disclosure trivial to exploit. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers could leverage this weakness from outside the network perimeter without requiring any special privileges or access to the system.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include applying the vendor-provided security patches that address the variable handling behavior, implementing proper input validation and output encoding for all web forms, and configuring the application to restrict the exposure of sensitive variables. Security administrators should also consider implementing network-level protections such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts. Additionally, regular security assessments and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other web applications and ensure that proper security controls are in place to prevent information disclosure attacks. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of secure coding practices and the need for proper validation of all user-supplied data and environmental variables in web applications.