CVE-2004-1697 in Unicenter Management Portal
Summary
by MITRE
The "Forgot your Password" link in Computer Associates (CA) Unicenter Management Portal 2.0 and 3.1 displays different error messages for users that exist and users that do not exist, which could allow remote attackers to guess valid usernames.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/03/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-1697 represents a classic information disclosure flaw within the Computer Associates Unicenter Management Portal authentication mechanism. This issue specifically affects versions 2.0 and 3.1 of the management portal, which is a component of CA's enterprise management suite designed to provide centralized monitoring and management capabilities for IT infrastructure. The vulnerability manifests through the password recovery functionality, which is a critical component of any authentication system that must balance usability with security.
The technical flaw stems from the application's inconsistent error handling behavior during the password reset process. When a user attempts to use the "Forgot your password" feature, the system provides different response messages depending on whether the submitted username exists in the system database. This differential response creates a clear indication to potential attackers about the validity of their guesses, effectively enabling account enumeration attacks. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-200, which describes information exposure through improper error handling, and represents a fundamental breakdown in the principle of least information disclosure.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations utilizing the affected CA Unicenter Management Portal versions. Remote attackers can systematically enumerate valid usernames by making repeated requests to the password recovery endpoint and observing the different error responses. This information disclosure weakness provides attackers with a foothold for further exploitation, potentially leading to credential stuffing attacks against the discovered valid accounts. The vulnerability undermines the security posture of the entire management portal, as it exposes the underlying user directory structure to unauthorized parties.
From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1078 credential access tactic, specifically targeting legitimate accounts through enumeration methods. The attack vector requires no special privileges and can be executed remotely, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with exposed management portals. The flaw essentially provides an attacker with a user enumeration capability that significantly reduces the complexity of subsequent authentication attacks.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including standardizing error messages for all account validation attempts, regardless of whether the account exists. The recommended approach involves implementing consistent error handling that returns identical messages for both valid and invalid username submissions during password recovery operations. Additionally, rate limiting and account lockout mechanisms should be enforced to prevent automated enumeration attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of following security best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-63B for authentication system design, which emphasizes the need for consistent error responses to prevent information leakage. Organizations should also consider implementing multi-factor authentication for management portals to add additional security layers beyond simple username/password authentication.